Random Jump
by gred18850
Summary: Rose was bound to go to really strange places when she launched herself through parallel worlds so why not see where she ended up. Tie ins to my other story Rose/all Doctors
1. Jump 865

Author's note: Meant to be utterly silly and really random, kind of. If any of you have ever been a fan of Trigun (the anime or the manga) you will see the parallels. At least with the Doctor, though I do think that Meryl and Rose do share key personality traits. Unwavering loyalty, compassion for those they do not understand, and faith in the goodness of people but realistic enough to not become disappointed in the human race are just a few things that I see. It's my opinion so it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else. DO NOT OWN EITHER TRIGUN OR DOCTOR WHO. I think that covers everything.

Rose stumbled to a halt. She was in the middle of a dessert that stretched as far as the eye could see. That was just _fantastic_! She didn't have water and had no idea when the dimensional cannon was going to recall her. Luckily she was pretty hard to kill these days but without water it was going to be really hard for her body to repair the damage.

She really wished that she could have reached the rest of her the strain of being separated from her main body for so long was starting to slow down her body. It was odd being two beings at once that were dependent on each other for survival. Eight hundred and twenty-three years was a long time to exist outside her capsule's casing. It was like a hermit crab without its shell except the shell was alive too and could think for itself and travel through time and space.

Well, she could do that too and even better she had developed a way to sling herself through dimensions. And with the overhaul that she had put the cannon through after her last jump it was now intrinsically apart of herself. Traveling back on her own personal timeline had been tricky but manageable considering that she had gone back to before she could take any sort of humanoid form.

So she had nicked a few pieces from the 'TARDIS', really her granddaughter could have been a bit more creative, and now Rose was being sent to places that would get her closer to her Doctor. Even more important it would take her places that she was needed. Although, where she was at currently seemed as if there was nothing left for her to do, no one was there for her to help.

Rose stood still and closed her eyes to get a feel of the planet she was standing on. The distance from the two suns was longer than the distance between Earth and Sol making the year longer, but the planet had approximately the same length of day and night. Rose had to admit that the feeling of the five moons pulling at planet was different then she was used to. She hadn't been to a planet with this many moons in a long while.

The planet itself was covered with life and that life had its own consciousness which was currently not focused on her. Good, one less thing she had to worry about. Other than that she only felt two different types of humanoid species. Not that she was really that perceptive it was just that she could feel some of them coming closer to her. Their 'songs' were different from each other and getting louder. One in particular was very loud and beautiful.

There were only four people that she could 'hear' and the louder one was not human at all. He had to be some sort of telepathic being which was why he was louder to her. The other three felt human and while their song wasn't as loud as the non-human they were just as beautiful and complex.

She opened her senses further and if it had been dark out the strangers would have spotted her like a beacon. Rose knew she was glowing. But this was important; she had kept this body alive this long by learning caution. Buds were extremely hard to grow, especially the way this one had been.

With all of her senses fully open she saw exactly who the non-human was and smiled. It was amazing what different dimensions could turn familiar people into. Hell, he wasn't the only one familiar in the group. At least this time she wasn't going back on this body's personal time line. Past or future lives didn't cause damage to the fabric of reality. Different life, different person, same soul, she had never done this before.

She sent out a mental version of a greeting and could hear the vehicle that they were traveling in get very noisy with the sounds of yelping and screeching as people started to yell. She hadn't meant to startle anyone, but considering that there wasn't even a dune to crash into, Rose wasn't worried.

A jeep pulled up a short distance away from her and two really tall men were booted out by a tiny woman. Rose could understand why, the two men were grappling with each other. The blond man in red was losing terrible to a man dressed in black, the looser was wailing ridiculously. The only one to notice her at all was a tall brunet woman that sparkled with innocence.

"Hello!" The brunet said with a wave. The rest of her group froze and stared at her.

Suddenly the man in the red duster was standing before her.

"Hello there pretty lady, I heard your message an…"

"You know you might want to be more careful when traveling through the fourth dimension. You could attract higher dimensional beings that you probably have no idea what to do with. Trust me Eternals look beautiful but they're a pain to deal with. And considering all the emotions that are leaking off of you this time around they would never leave you alone."

A confused silence permeated the air after Rose's declaration. None of the group there had any idea of what she just said. Which was good really she couldn't afford for them to want to know her personally. One wrong word and well things could go bad, like her last jump.

"Who the heck are you, lady?" The blond squeaked out. He had picked up on the essence of what she had said if not the particulars.

There was a murmur of 'hoboy' in the background by the man in black as he leaned against the car and lit a cigarette. Rose noticed that he was also casually reaching for something huge in the backseat of the jeep, but from the angle that she was standing at she couldn't see what it was plus the thing was completely wrapped up in canvas.

Rose gave her best impish smile, complete with tong on teeth.

"I'm just a trans-dimensional being that is usually a sexy blue box but has aged enough to personify herself into a humanoid body. In this case, an actual human," Rose said.

"What?" The short woman finally spoke up.

"I'm a traveler that got dumped here and am waiting for my ride." Which was going to happen shortly because right before she was pulled back to Pete's world she could feel thin pull on her body that started from the inside out.

"Look I don't have a lot of time so sorry if I seem a bit odd, no time to explain." With that she reached up and took the blond man's face in her hands after messing up his hair. Rose brushed her fingers along his temple, next. She was asking for permission and a subtle nod granted it. It was much faster to speak mind to mind.

_Who are you?_ _What are you? What do you want?_ His mental voice was smoother and a bit deeper.

_I have no time to explain, but I'm here to give you a gift. You always make yourself so lonely, my beautiful idiot. Don't pout, you are and you do. Though I have to admit this you got all the humble. Courage and determination, I like that. I think I'll tell you when I see you later. _Rose backed away dropping her hands and broke the connection.

"Sorry got to go, nice meeting you all." Rose smiled and waved, only the tall brunet women waved back.

"Wait, you said gift, what gift?" he almost lunged towards her because there was some a small panic-y part of him that suddenly realized his hand was cold, which was frankly ridiculous considering he wore gloves.

"I already gave it to you before you even got out of the car." Rose gave one more saucy smile that was accompanied by a wink and disappeared.

"What the hell just happened?" The man leaning on the jeep sounded irritated.

"I think the goddess of time loves me," the blond man said dopily. "She even gave me a gift!"

"Dream on, needle-noggin. Now what really happened?" Was the other man's response.

"I agree with Mr. Wolfwood. I admit that the woman was a bit odd but hardly a goddess." The short woman said.

"But Meryl, she really was!" The tall blond whined.

"If she was a goddess, where's your gift?" The sarcastic response came from Wolfwood.

"Er… she said she already gave it to me. Well how I'm I supposed to know what a goddess meant.

"Well I think it's great that Mr. Vash made a new friend." The tall brunet said.

"Thanks, Big Girl!" Vash's gratitude was enthusiastic.

"Great, whatever, just get in the car!" Meryl's voice was taking on a dangerous edge which caused Vash to stand at attention.

"Yes ma'am," Vash saluted then dove in. Underneath Vash's normal antics he felt excited and a little worried. He had never seen Meryl's eyes flash _gold_ before.


	2. Jump 347

Author's Note: It's weird to think that I have two series. Meeting Eleven from Rose's point of view.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks a bunch.

Rose had landed here about a month ago and knew that today she was going to leave, finally! This stupid thing was supposed to take her to the Doctor, any Doctor. And because she couldn't tell Torchwood that she was from the future (sort of) and she had been forced to use their tech. It was dangerous and stupid for anyone else but her to use. Though this last month had seen her jumper transform into something that resembled a Time Agent's wrist vortex manipulator. Well maybe because she had used hers that she had gotten when she had graduated from this world's Academy.

Being a Time Agent for thirty years had been an eye opener to what Jack's life might have been and it wasn't exactly pretty. To avoid getting her vortex manipulator taken from her if she retired, she had faked her own death, and it hadn't been hard. Her body could take a lot of damage and so she made it believable. The trick had been to figure out a way to make it too hard for them to recover her body.

She had eventually decided on a very public slow dissolve into light particles. Sometime Bad Wolf was so useful. Unfortunately, all it really was was a light show, but it had worked. The down side had been was that it had landed her in a coma for three months on some back water planet that Rose never found out the name of.

Then it had be a short hope home twelve hours after she had run away, and it really had been twelve hours not twelve months. She couldn't wait to brag to the Doctor. Luckily, she had been living in her own flat at the time so no one had missed her. Hell, she hadn't even missed a day at work at Torchwood. She had always wondered why no one had looked for her.

It hadn't taken long to get entrenched in this project and she had missed Mickey terribly. But she was having a hard time being the Rose that they remembered. She couldn't use all her knowledge that she had accumulated over several hundred years, a little over three hundred. She had so many PhDs she had lost count.

So, yes, she was dealing with crap technology but was coping. Unfortunately, she was stuck coping in 2006 for a month in Cardiff, in her old universe, her proper one. It still felt wonderful. The unfortunately part was avoiding local Torchwood, (who where these idiots?), and hoping that she didn't run into her Doctor when they were still traveling together. She was pretty sure that they hadn't come back here after he regenerated, but it had been a long time and most pit stops had been unremarkable. Just groceries and petrol, metaphorically speaking.

To keep out of the underground Alien community she had started to work at a florist shop. A Rose selling flowers, the owners had eaten it right up along with a down on her luck story. She wasn't dead yet so she had gotten copies of all her legal documentation and had gotten a small flat.

And now here she was standing outside the shop after just quitting and there he was. Oh, he had regenerated again or maybe this was one from before her travels with Nine, but she knew the Doctor when she saw him. The sonic screwdriver was a dead giveaway.

When he started at seeing her she knew it was after her time. So New, New, New Doctor hmm… what to do? By now she knew that she couldn't speak to him, she would be too tempted to ask where she was. As long as he didn't tell her anything she could be getting milk for all she knew. And if she wasn't with him, as long as she didn't know she could still change it.

But what could she do to actually communicate with him without talking? What would he understand without being obvious?

The smell of roses wafted over to her.

Direct eye contact froze him in his path and Rose hoped that she had enough time to get what she needed before he bolted. She hurried inside and dashed to the manager.

"Carol, do you mind if I take one flower with me before I leave?"

"Not at all, just be sure you visit us every once in a while," came the reply.

With a quick thanks Rose dashed over to the flower she had in mind. She had once gotten stuck in the mid 1800's for a week and one of the things that she had to learn, oddly enough, was the meaning of flowers colors and arrangements. It had been boring and pointless and isn't that exactly what sticks into your mind, not quantum mechanics which had taken years of intense study.

He was still on the other side of the street when she dashed out the door. After looking for cars she practically hopped over to him in excitement, hiding the flower carefully. Before he could open his mouth to say anything Rose swooped in and kissed him lightly on the mouth. It had the desired effect.

He was so flustered that he was even waving his hands about in small fluttery motions as if he didn't know what to do with them. That was fine as long as he didn't get them in her way.

Quickly she put the flower through his button hole and paused to take him in. Pretty green eyes, not bad hair, a bit younger she could get used to the new look. Plus, it was cute that he was blushing.

She gave him one last smile before she was yanked back into Pete's world.

Author's Note: Woot! Two updates in one night!


	3. Jump 524

A/N: Woo Hoo! On a roll

Disclaimer: Don't own, no need for those lawyers.

She should have known it was too good to be true. The TARDIS had been sitting there, right in front of her when she had 'landed' here. Rose had been overjoyed to not only see the TARDIS but one that looked like hers. By now she knew all the small differences that the outside went through. This one looked like the TARDIS she still dreamed about after all these years.

She had run up to the door and had pulled out her key which she had never taken off. It had fit the lock perfectly, and with a deft twist of her wrist Rose had unlocked the door and slipped in. No one had been inside the console room and that had been fine. It was unrealistic for the Doctor to be inside when he could go off and explore.

Rose was wrong and was proven so when the Doctor walked into the console room about three minutes after she let herself in. For a moment they just stood staring at each other in shock. The Doctor was surprised that there was some strange woman standing in his TARDIS, whereas Rose was staring in shock over what he looked like.

Leather jacket, check. Big ears that she loved, yep, still there and larger than life. Overwhelmingly intense blue eyes that could never hide how much pain he was in, it was actually worse than normal. The rest of the uniform was there as well. He was wearing the blue jumper today with his dark jeans and boots.

The Doctor was worse than what she remembered though. The pain was too close to the surface, too raw. He wasn't hiding it as well as he used to, but that may be because her last memories of him, this him, he had been better. It wasn't just in his eyes it was in the way that he looked so haggard physically. It was if he was barley taking care of himself. His cheek bones stood out to much and Rose would bet a tenner that he was too thin under that jacket.

But if she was right that only left two options. One, that she was getting closer to her current Doctor but too early; two, she was in an alternate dimension and being here could throw off everything in this world if she wasn't very careful.

Rose honestly hoped for the second option despite the danger that both choices presented. If it really was her first Doctor how was she going to walk away? He had been so broken when she had first met him and he was even worse right now. Well she wasn't going to get anywhere if they both stood there all day staring.

"Which universe am I in?" Rose asked.

"What do you think? The proper one o' course!" Nine replied back in the tone of voice that Rose recognized as laughing at the silly ape's question.

"OI! Don't take that tone with me. Every universe is a proper universe it just depends on who you ask, yeah. So if you can tell me where I'm at it would make things a bit easier."

"Don't mind me, it's not as if I was having a go at you," Nine said with his hands raised as if he was going to need to ward her off.

"Really," Rose said sarcastically.

"Alright, maybe a bit. Who was I to know that you were such an accomplished traveler?" The last was said with some speculation. "And how did you get into my TARDIS anyway?"

"The TARDIS, of course. I was so shocked at seeing this you that I started asking the wrong person questions. Right, if you'll excuse me I'll just be a mo." With that Rose turned to the consol and started a conversation.

"So what's going on? Where and when am I?" Rose waited as the TARDIS flashed her lights and completed a long series of beeps, hums, and clicks.

"Oh, that's just _fantastic_!" Rose's sarcasm was thick in the air and was followed by lots of swearing, most of it in alien languages. She then turned to the Doctor who was standing there shocked; he knew that he had just heard bits of Gallifreian.

"Did you just say that Rassilon should shove-," Nine began to say.

"Right, sorry for intruding, forget that I was ever here." Rose quickly said over her shoulder as she sprung for the door.

"Not likely," Nine snorted then said cockily, "And where do you think you're going?"

As Rose reached the door she heard the sonic go off and the door lock clicking shut. She smirked, that so wasn't going to work on her. The TARDIS would let her out even against his wishes. Which was why she was shocked when she couldn't open the door.

"Hay!" Rose exclaimed as she spun to face the console. The Doctor gave her a smug look thinking that he had one upped her. She ignored him, she really couldn't be here.

"This is wrong, we know this. I have to go, it isn't time yet. I came too early so I need to leave," Rose pleaded as she stroked the bit of the console closest to their heart having gone back up the ramp to sweet talk her way out. The answering hums made Rose smile a sad smile and glance at the Doctor. He no longer looked smug just confused and suspicious. He had a feeling that he never had any control over what had been happening for the last ten minutes.

"I know, I know, it's what's making it so difficult. Well yeah…he can't…fine but if this messes up stuff it's not _my _fault… Alright that didn't make that much sense but you understand what I'm talking about… _Fine!_"

"Excuse me, are you quite done, that's my ship you're yellin' at," the Doctor interrupted.

"She won't let me leave," Rose pouted.

"I noticed," was the Doctors snarky reply.

"She usually likes me more than you," Rose couldn't help but taunt.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean? No don't tell me I probably shouldn't know yet, right?"

"Nah, that's something you never really figured out, so it's probably best to tell you right from the off. Now you can move on and focus on the why. I'm sure you have great fun trying to figure it out." She missed teasing him and prodding him. His ego, no matter the form, had always been an easy target that she could never pass up. Plus, she knew that he loved showing off to her, especially to prove how very impressive he could be.

"Cheeky thing you turned out to be and I put up with you?"

"One of the best things about me is my witty banter. Plus, you like having someone around that can hold stuff while you rig things to explode."

He smiled one of his dazzling smiles and she smiled back one of hers.

"So, how _did_ you get in?" He leaned back onto a coral support strut as if he realized that he had just got caught up in something he wasn't allowed to do but was still fun.

Rose rested her hip on the console and watched him study her trying to formulate what the best response would be. When his eyes took on a vague cast she realized he was actually _looking_ at her properly. The last one that had done that to her had been his previous regeneration, not that he would remember that.

Her first Doctor's reaction was entirely different than his previous form's one. He was wary as if he had no idea what he was looking at. To distract him from taking a closer look she decided to answer his question in a way that would annoy him.

"I told you she likes me more than you." She shrugged with her statement as if the TARDIS would throw open the doors without prompt.

"Right, pull the other one," he said dryly which only caused her to give him her biggest smile including tongue at the edge of her teeth.

"Fine, have it your way. So, why are you here?" The Doctor changed directions.

"According to her to prevent a paradox or complete one, depends on what she's talking about. She said something about Paris. Wait… we're in Paris." Rose's smile became devious. She quickly reached out and snagged his hand and dragged him towards the door at a sprint. He wasn't really resisting, which made things much easier. Rose figured that his shock on being touched at all kept him from balking.

The doors flew open before she reached them and Rose tossed him a smug grin over her shoulder. He was gaping at her as if she couldn't possibly exist.

His shock allowed her to drag him for another five minutes before he started to resist. He didn't exactly plant his boots but he was making her slow down none the less. She was grateful that he was being gentle. If he would have stopped suddenly that would have really hurt her shoulder. But even with him slowing them down she was determined to find the perfect spot, nothing famous because nothing was going to compete with this moment not even the Eiffel Tower.

Rose finally stopped at an open air market that was teeming with life and turned him towards a beautiful fountain that was perfect for what she had planned. Picturesque and slightly romantic but not obvious was just what she needed.

"So, have you met any strangers today?" She asked playfully as she turned him subtly until his back was facing the fountain, _fantastic_.

"Not as strange as you, though I have to admit I have met stranger than you, just not today," the Doctor replied.

"Perfect!" With that Rose yanked him down and did something she had always wanted to do, snog the breath out of her first Doctor. She was determined to kiss him good and long to make sure that the sadness in his eyes faded just a little, to show that even if she wasn't with him now she was going to be and was not going to let go any time soon.

And then because she could and because she now knew that he had know about her and still had not made a move, she broke the kiss and shoved him into the fountain. Teach him to make her think he was asexual or at the very least uninterested and then taunt her with euphemisms about dancing.

For a second he sat there too shocked to do anything but blink. He then burst out laughing and made to snag her but she skipped back. She teased him with another impish smile.

"Fantastic!" She grinned at his exclamation and kept her distance as he struggled out of the water. As he fumbled around she took several pictures on her phone to show, well, _everyone_ when she got back to Pete's world. Mickey would love these. So would Jack when she ever saw him again.

Her job done she checked her dimension cannon to see if it was charged and let her attention slip. It was, admittedly, a mistake but he wouldn't get the satisfaction. As she tumbled backward, her legs catching on the edge of the fountain she pressed the button. She disappeared before she hit the water. Her last image was of dancing happy blue eyes.

A/N: I hope they weren't too out of character, but this is fanfiction so oh well.


	4. Jump 1

Rose was lost, which really wasn't that unusual. No, the strange part was she knew that she had been somewhere else, as in different dimension somewhere else, before she had ended up in this hedge maze. Her first successful jump was taking a seriously strange turn and she had no idea what to do about it or how to fix it. The change in scenery was sort of freaky and if she saw little fuzzy goblin Muppets Rose was going to leg it real fast. Just as long as she didn't find a David Bowie look alike in hot pants she wouldn't actively use the dimension cannon to escape. That was only for emergencies and if she saw someone like that it would definitely be an emergency.

After several hours of wandering she had come no closer to finding where she had been before (a maze of dessert dunes). But she had found the center of the garden maze, at the very least she thought it was. She has noticed that all paths separated and come back together like an intricate weave on a spider's web but not nearly that straight forward.

There are seven statues, that were staring forward on one side of the path except for one and that one was facing the opposite direction. It was if he turning his back on the rest of the statues. The only thing that flashed through her mind was something she had said once. _Everyone leaves home in the end._ The statue was leaving his family; it was an odd thought but seemed to fit none the less.

Spinning in a circle looking at the paths Rose felt suddenly overwhelmed. She had stood at this point before, maybe not here, but certainly here. She realized that her previous observation made no sense but all the same the powerful feeling that was taking over was familiar and brought the singing that was always at the back of her mind to the center of her attention. Rose knew, without question, that where she stood was every possibility that could ever be. She was standing at the beginning of time and it was spread out before her just waiting for her to see and experience.

It was overwhelming her and the singing in her head was getting louder. Then suddenly a sound tore her awareness away. The sound of a rattling chain made Rose sensitive to the fact that she was no longer alone. She instantly felt her guard rise: chains equaled bad for her usually. She spun in a circle again, looking for whom or what made the noise.

A man in a brown robe stood barefoot in front of her. She could only see his chin due to the hood that covered the rest of his face. The only bits of skin she could see were his feet, chin, and hands that's how completely covered the man was. The chain that she had heard earlier led from one of his hands to a book that he carried with him. Rose had the distinct impression that the book was both chained to him and that he was chained to the book. It was fundamental to his existence.

Tell me, ***, what path will you choose?" the sound he had made while addressing her was indescribable and such a foreign piece of herself that Rose had a hard time understanding what else the man said.

"I apologize; it is not very often that I receive guests or that I am allowed to directly interact with mortals. Let me repeat myself in a manner that you will comprehend. Rose Tyler of the Travelers, Bad Wolf, the Valiant Child, Defender of the Earth, She Who Walks Across Reality, and Golden Spun Time; in this time and this place that is neither, your paths are revealed to you. As all Travelers find their way here, this is your moment. What path will you choose, cousin?"

"Who are you?" The question was gasped out as if she had been forced to hold it for too long. Some of the titles were unfamiliar to her but she knew what he had done the first go round, he had _named_ her. He had used the name that was given to everyone that made up who and what they were. As far as Rose knew Time Lords were the only people that knew the true name that they were born with. This man was extremely dangerous.

"Destiny of the Endless," his answer came out the way he had said everything so far. His voice was like the rustling of old pages and well worn paths.

The name and title meant nothing to her but that didn't mean that Rose couldn't recognize power when she saw it. One thing was certain Rose knew that she was now addressing a higher dimensional being. While she had never run into any of them when she was with the Doctor she had done so on her travels by herself, she was over three hundred after all. All the same, she had never heard of the Endless. She leaves a mental note to herself to find out later if this one won't say.

"Er, yeah about that what exactly is an Endless when their at home?" She doesn't understand how absurd her question was to him. This _is_ his home, his _Domain_ that they are standing in. Where they stand _is_ him, this place, and he is everywhere and every when and only because of what he is can it allow him to understand her question enough to answer her.

"The seven Endless are the anthropomorphic personification of ideas, reality, or concepts. I am _Destiny_ and this is my domain." He strode closer to her. There was no noise; he cast no shadow. It was if he stood apart from all things and watched ever unchanging and distant. Rose wondered if the Time Lords were more like this being than what the Doctor was.

"Cousin?" Rose was sure she had no relation to something this powerful.

"It is not the time," said Destiny, "my part is done, choose a path and continue."

With that he stood waiting and still as if he had turned into one of the statues behind them. It was then that she noticed that the first of them was in fact a statue of him. The rest, Rose guessed were the rest of the Endless. Destiny, with one hand poised over a page in his book was the exact replica of the statue behind him.

She took the rest of the statues in and committed their images to memory, just in case. She then turned to the paths again and realized that no matter what she chose that at some point or another she could wander off the path and onto one that she didn't want. In that moment Rose truly understood the difference between destiny and fate. Your destiny was something you chose, where your decisions led you. Fate was something preordained, unavoidable and could happen entirely against the will of who it was working on. Rose liked to be in charge of her own life, thanks ever so.

This time when she looked down the path ways the song was gentler and not so overwhelming. She took a glance down each path and after a time picked the one that suited her most. It wasn't the happiest but it was the most fulfilling and not just for her, but it was certainly a difficult path. Rose picked the path that had the most joy for everyone that was involved and in choosing also lost the memory of every path including the one chosen.

She did not however loose the memory of the place and the man who she met. He had given her quite a bit to think about as she walked through the dunes of sand.


	5. Jump 78

"_Grandmother!_" The voice was high pitched and incredibly surprised. Rose wondered if the girl had snuck out of school and just realized that she had been caught. The girl in question had short dark hair, was fairy petite, and looked like she had stepped out of the sixties. So Rose reevaluated the situation. Not only was the girl skipping school she had 'borrowed' her grandmother's vintage clothing.

"What was that, what was that? Foolish child why would you go and say something like that," the old man with her sounded angry but looked hurt. Rose guessed that the loss of his wife had been recent.

"But Grandfather, look!" The young girl pointed in Rose's general direction, more than likely pointing at someone behind her. So the girl had family with her, there went her previous theory.

"My word! This is, yes, this is extraordinary. I had forgotten that she had mentioned something like this. Now Susan, why don't you steer that young Chesterton and Barbra clear of here, hmm?"

"But Grandfather," Susan complained.

"Now, none of that, child, run along. You know the potential dangers if she's heard any of our conversation not to mention actually meeting you here and now," the old man scolded with a wave of his finger.

It took another two full minutes for Rose to realize two things. One, the girl couldn't be skipping school or anything else for that matter because they were currently on an asteroid where the native peoples where kind of like waist high furry snails with three arms. Two, both the old man and young girl were looking right at her. Considering the surrounding crowd she should have realized it right from the start.

"My dear," while Rose had been getting past her shock the old man had approached while the girl had left. "I'm going to assume that you have just recently started your journey across the universes."

Rose numbly nodded. Did that girl call her _grandmother?_ Oddly the only other thought that was floating in her head was that if she ever had grandkids they were going to call her grandma not grandmother. She was going to be one of those awesome grandmas that baked cookies and took the grandkids out to play in the mud and dance in the rain. Not a _grandmother_ that kept her house spotless and made sure that the grandkids were never sticky. This was all assuming that Rose ever got around to having kids in the first place, or hey, she could live vicariously through Tony for the rest of his life.

"Precious girl, are you alright?" The old man broke into her thoughts as he gently took her hand and patted it in comfort. And in that instant Rose knew exactly who this old man was even if she wasn't sure which one he was. This was very different than the time she ran into the one with the awful coat.

"No, yes, I don't know. Sorry for the mental space walk. It's not every day you get to see your future gawk at you, Doctor," Rose said in good natured tone that hid how thrown she really was. Grandmother, _really_? Well, that was a positive sign if she ever saw one.

"Oh yes, hmhm, delightful, delightful. I have missed you greatly, my dear," he kissed the back of her hand then patted it again. Rose raised an eyebrow at the absurd situation that she was in.

The situation didn't get any less surreal because she spent the next two hours talking with this old Doctor in a local park were they strolled around and fed small scale covered squeaky things that she supposed was this asteroid's version of pidgins. They were acting like a stereotypical old couple. It was fun and really sweet and Rose hoped that she would get to be this way with her Doctor when she found him again.


	6. Jump 67

She would recognize that coat anywhere; Rose just never realized that she would actually see it _on_ someone. The last place she had seen it was in the wardrobe when she had gone to get a coat for an ice planet excursion. She remembered because she had to go in there twice because the Doctor wouldn't let her leave the TARDIS wearing the scarf she had picked out. The thing had trailed down past her knees but she hadn't seen what the problem was there had been two other scarves much longer that she could have taken instead.

While putting the scarf back something bright and utterly horrifying had caught her attention. It had turned out to be the coat that the man across the way was wearing. The man had curly blond hair and had broad shoulders. He was walking ahead and on the other side of the lane from her so she couldn't see his face.

The man, who Rose decided had to be the Doctor because no one else would ever wear that coat, was carrying a fishing rod, basket, and net. Who knew that the Doctor ever liked to fish. She couldn't even begin to imagine her rude and not ginger Doctor ever being able to sit still long enough to really enjoy something like that. Her first Doctor might have, he seemed the type that would have liked the quiet solitude that would have allowed him to catch up with his naps that he said he never took.

"Are you quite done gawking?" A rude and haughtily exasperated voice broke into her thoughts on one of the few times that she had caught her first Doctor napping in one of the TARDIS's many gardens.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare. Your coat just caught me off guard. Thought you might be poisonous or signaling for help and wasn't sure which way to go about finding out, but I'm sure it would do that to anyone," Rose never could resist teasing him and this form just seemed so easy to rile up from the way he was puffing up in front of her.

"I beg your pardon!" His shocked exclamation caused Rose to smile at him in complete amusement. Her action caused him to stop and study her.

"Hmm… you seem familiar. Ah, yes you're that annoying girl that stole a rather important device from me in my second form, Jamie didn't stop laugh at me for days," he burst out saying after a few minutes on intense study.

Rose had no idea what he was talking about but cataloged it away for future use.

"So, _what_ are you going to steal from me this time?" The Doctor's was heavy with irritation and impatience. Rose figured that he assumed that it was going to be a regular thing for the both of them.

"Nothing, unless you have somethin' in your pockets that would help to stabilize a multidimensional space hopper. Or really, well just the bio-matrix that stabilizes my molecular structure. Just for the landing part though. So, which Doctor are you? It's just that the two of you that I traveled with never said, and this thing I'm using to travel pulls me towards you an' the TARDIS because well I guess I can't tell you the rest, or maybe I can, I donno'. Are you even the Doctor I knew or an alternate version?"

"Are you quite done babbling? How do I even put up with you?" The man huffed in annoyance with an exaggerated sigh.

"Wow and I thought my rude and not ginger Doctor was bad," and because she couldn't resist she added, "so you're my mean and curly blond Doctor, hmm needs work. But definitely mean," she finished with a fake thoughtful look. He sputtered in indignation.

"Yours! I hardly think so." He folded his hands in front of his stomach and gave her a very patronizing look. The fishing gear that had been placed at his feet was ignored for the time being.

Rose studied him for a moment longer and decided something right then. This was the first Doctor that she had come across since she was trapped in Pete's world. Apparently, she was going to meet his second form as well. She wondered if she would get to meet all of her Doctor, and that was the realization. It didn't matter what form he took, he was her Doctor and even though in this form his ego seemed the largest yet she still wanted to shove him up against a wall and have her way with him. It didn't help that he was quite pretty under that tragedy of a coat.

"All Doctors are mine, I've just decided thanks. And you're my pretty but mean Doctor," Rose said flippantly and enjoyed his complete bewilderment and irritation.

While studying him she noticed something else, something that she wouldn't have picked up on if she couldn't read him as well as she did. Something was upsetting him and she was sure that this him wouldn't tell her anything about it (not that any of him did) that didn't mean she couldn't give support.

Rose slipped around the tackle and took his hand in hers, yep, still fit perfectly. He stiffened whether it was because it was unexpected or that he just didn't like to be touched Rose didn't know or care for that matter. She swung their hands back and forth for a second.

"Built just for me," she mused absently.

"What did you say?" The question was sharp but he didn't drop her hand.

"Just an observation, whatever form you're in your hand always feels perfectly made to hold mine, just weird that's all." Rose explained shyly.

"I see," his response was shockingly warm considering the way he had spoken to her before. Rose looked up to find that his eyes and smile were as warm as his voice. Damn, he was really beautiful when he wasn't trying. Plus, whatever had been upsetting him was now gone or at least deemed unimportant.

"Precious girl," The Doctor took Rose's face in both of his hands carefully, "you should not have told me that."

He leaned back away from her and lightly tapped her nose; he then placed his hands on his hips. "That's something that I probably shouldn't know about yet, considering that I have only met you a few times and I hardly think in the right order. Now, you should run along and get back to whatever you doing and I'll get back to a nice day of relaxing fishing."

The end came out a bit dismissive but Rose knew that whatever form he was in he didn't like large displays of emotion. He thought he was different from regular human blokes, hah!

"Right, I'll just be on my way, great meeting this you. I can't wait to meet the rest of you, sounds like lodes of fun!" Rose hopped up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. His little smug smile that seemed perpetually in this him's face only grew.

The only thing that confused Rose was to why she ended up here? Maybe it was pure chance. She did learn through the experience though, was that apparently she couldn't hitch a lift with a Doctor to find her own. While she hadn't asked this him Rose also took away the distinct impression that he would have refused because she had already met him alone in his past and her future.

After she had faded into nothing the sixth Doctor stood staring at the spot for a few moments then sighed. "A human what am I thinking when that happens? I suppose I don't have to understand right now," he said to the air. What did it matter to him? His knowledge and awareness of her was already fading as he locked away this memory and went back to his fishing. Maybe a nice relaxing day of it would help him forget the travesty of trial that he had just gone through.


	7. Meanwhile on the TARDIS 1

A/N: I forgot the disclaimer for the past three entries. So here it is: I do not own Doctor Who if I did I would not still be living at home with school debt up to my eyebrows. I also do not own The Sandman because if I did I would know who the killer was behind the Kindly ones.

This one is different because I decided that I would do something with the Doctor until I thought of something else to do with Rose.

Meanwhile on the TARDIS

Martha Jones was just sitting down to tea in the library with a nice book when she spotted the stranger in the TARDIS. He was tall (taller than the Doctor), thin as a rail (thinner than the Doctor), and pale. He was in fact white, not peach or pale pink, white. Even the man's hair was wilder than the Doctor's. There was a strange being _in _the TARDIS and he was contently browsing through the large collection of books. He also took no notice of one Martha Jones.

Carefully, Martha set the tea and book aside and cautiously stood and made her way quietly to the door, then ran towards the console room. She had to find the Doctor; he would know what to do. Maybe he would be able to explain how this was even possible since she was pretty sure they were in what the Doctor called the time vortex.

Bursting into the console room she yelled his name conveying exactly how disturbed she was, loudly. The Doctor slid out from underneath the console and gave Martha a concerned look. There was something about Martha that he knew he should know but was forgetting. Oh, it would come to him eventually.

"Doctor, oh my god, Doctor there's a strange man in the TARDIS. And he looks all strange but human at the same time. And how did an alien get on board and us not notice it, I mean he's browsing through the library, _the library_." Martha was starting to get hysterical and the Doctor couldn't tell if it was fear or excitement. Judging by her expression it was fear.

The Doctor told Martha to stay in the console room while he determined if the alien in question was dangerous or not. As far as the doctor could tell from what Martha described he only seemed to want to find some interesting reading material and had taken no interest to the TARDIS's inhabitance.

The matter was quickly solved when the alien in question appeared into the room. It was as if he had melted out of the shadows. He was wearing black jeans and shirt that matched the black of his hair and eyes. The eyes themselves where completely black except for a small pinprick of light where the Doctor assumed his pupils where. Draped over his shoulders was a black cloak with a high collar that the longer the Doctor watched the more it looked like the official robes that his people had worn for the most ceremonial occasions.

"Greetings mortal," the strange man said.

"Hello," the Doctor greeted back and waved, "How did you manage to enter my ship?"

"Your Lady gave me permission to enter when asked. It didn't seem that I required your consent to enter."

"My Lady?" What was this man talking about?

"Yes, she seems angry that her humanoid form was lost. It seems that it was still in its developmental stage and had taken a great deal of effort to grow that quickly." The man said casually as he thumbed through the book in his hand.

The Doctor up until this point had not even noticed that the man had held something at all. It was odd he was usually more observant than that. There was something very strange happening and it was disturbing his senses. The Doctor couldn't tell how much time had passed and that scared him.

"Relax, little dreamer, I have only come for the book. Lucien has been charged with the recovery of the books that had been mislaid by my absence. Unfortunately, the lifestyle that you lead, mortal, had made the recovery of the book you had acquired a task to difficult for him. I interceded on his request and shall now take the book back to the Dreaming with me."

"This is a dream? I'm dreaming," he paused and looked around. Martha was gone and he had not noticed when that had happened. "It explains why my sense of timing was off."

The Doctor looked expectantly at the stranger for his reaction to his joke. There was nothing, the man's expression was blank.

"Right, well you came for a book and now you have it but you never explained who you were." The Doctor thought he might as well go along because obviously his subconscious was trying to work through something that even he didn't know about.

"I apologize. I am Morpheus, Dream of the Endless. It is very rare for a dreamer to notice my presence enough to become aware that they are dreaming, even Time Lords. I always had great respect for your race. They were very dedicated to their perceived duty. They had a great hand in my family's shaping."

"Sorry to interrupt, I hate to be rude; well that's a lie, anyway, not the point. What do you mean humanoid form?" This dream was odd to say the least, but if this figment of his twisted mind was willing to talk then the Doctor was going to see what was on his own mind. "And who is my _Lady_? You never answered."

Dream stared at the Doctor for a few minutes in silent amusement, "I agree he is not the most observant." It was the first time that the Doctor could remember that fragments of his dreams spoke to the TARDIS.

"The TARDIS is my Lady that is who you are referring to?" The thought was an odd one; it was amazing what his sleeping mind came up with.

"She allows you to make a home within her, offers her protection over your mind and hearts; she even created for you a humanoid extension of herself so you would have a companion. How is she not your Lady?" The Dream king had his head tilted with confusion. "Here is a question that you should ask yourself Time Lord, what do you offer her in return?"

With that proclamation he dismissed the Doctor completely and addressed the TARDIS. "Lady, if I should come across the other facet of you I will help if I can. I understand the weakening that you must both be feeling. She had left her domain and herself. Little cousin I will do what I can." Dream melted into the shadows and…

The Doctor woke up in the library on the couch where he had fallen asleep while reading a very strange book that he had been keeping in his pocket until recently. The book had been very unusual and as he had never read it before, tantalizing.

The book was gone.

And now that he thought about it so was Martha, he was alone again. What an odd dream, but all the same just a dream. The TARDIS was probably playing silly buggers with him because the lack of a human playmate. The book would turn up eventually.

"So you're my _Lady_, huh? Do I have to worry about you getting jealous of the next companion I bring aboard?"

His attempt at humor was met with the impression of indifference. She didn't seem to care, but liked the idea of being considered a Lady.

"It's odd, you don't seem to upset that Martha is gone."

He couldn't really tell what his ship felt to that it was an odd mixture of fondness, exasperation, and pride. The Doctor couldn't tell who they were directed at.

"Well, just the two of us again, nothing we have never faced before."

It struck him suddenly like it sometimes did. He was ambushed with the feelings of loss and hearts rending sadness. Rose was _gone_. His plus one, hope to his glory, Mutt to his Jeff, …Shiver.

The Doctor caught himself staring at his hands, they were cold, and decided that enough was enough. He need to get over her, she wasn't the first companion he eve lost and she wouldn't be the last. Martha was already gone. What did that say about him? And why did he know that Rose was always going to haunt him?

The Doctor finally realized that his grief wasn't just his own. The TARDIS was screaming in pain and fear at the loss of Rose. It was as if there was a gaping wound that was Rose shaped. It would never heal and would lead to her death eventually.

Abruptly the feeling was gone from his mind and a book was chucked at his head. It had been thrown just hard enough to knock him over. It was the TARDIS manual. Funny, he thought he had thrown this useless thing into a passing black hole when he had been Six. Plus, there was bound to be pages missing that he thought were silly and had torn out as Four.

A second book was tossed at him and hit him in the chest. It was on trans-dimensional mechanics. Oddly enough they were written by the same person. He glared at the nearest wall and rubbed his aching areas of injury.

"I can't do this anymore, old girl. It's time we started to move on."

As he was walking away he was bombarded with the image of a pink and yellow rose bud but instead of blooming it was dying, the sound of a howling wolf all alone, and the smell of starlight and time.

"I'm sorry but I can't." The Doctor left the room and immediately went to the console room to land. He ignored the spike of anger that was directed at him and fled out into a new adventure. He knew that if he would have stayed in the library she might have thrown every book at him until he understood her point, but he needed to run. To escape the memory of Rose that haunted his every waking step.

It only took him five minutes to realize that he was not where he was supposed to be and another twenty to figure out how far off. In her anger the TARDIS took him three galaxies over and two thousand years off from where he had wanted to go. Even more aggravating was the fact that there was nothing happening on the planet that he could determine. It was completely uninhabited as far as he could tell and there was very little wildlife to be found. He had nothing in his pockets to keep him entertained for very long. All of this was determined due to the fact that the TARDIS wouldn't let him back in for another thirty-six hours, and even then she withdrew from their telepathic link for several weeks and kept leaving articles of Rose's belongings out where she would have normally put them had she been there.

The Doctor blamed the strange dream.

He never found the book that Dream had taken.


	8. Jump 23

A/N: there are characters in here that I don't own, well all of them really. Gasp! I have nothing original!

Rose had landed in the middle of what she had to admit looked like a huge intergalactic gypsy camp. There were at least sixty different species of people in her line of sight, which made her wonder how many there actually were and how she was going to communicate with them. It was an admittedly large camp and it was very likely that she would run into someone who could communicate with her. The problem she might run into was that she didn't know when she was and that could cause a lot of language barriers if they were speaking in a future or past variation of something she knew.

In the three hundred and some odd years that she had been alive she had learned a good number of languages. It was nothing compared to the Doctor's five billion but Rose had at least four hundred and thirty six under her belt. There was bound to be one language that was familiar to her.

Rose carefully checked over what she was wearing to determine if there was anything loose to be stolen and found herself adequate. Loose change might disappear but she wasn't too worried over anything because not everyone was a stereotype and Rose liked to give a benefit of a doubt, even now after all of her experiences.

She was guessing it was the late twenty seventh century if clothes were anything to go by. Maybe they had some tech that she could buy off them. Her modified space hopper was scraped together from what Torchwood had in its vaults and any little thing would help. The quicker she got her hopper functioning the faster she could make it back to the Doctor to warn him.

As far as Rose could tell she hadn't made it back to her original universe yet and the one that she was in now felt wrong like it smelled of pepper but should feel like daisies. It was difficult to explain even to herself. Rose just hoped that she got better at it because everyone that read her reports were starting to get annoyed with what they considered nonsense.

Wandering further into camp Rose felt herself get swept up and away by the music that seemed to blanket everything around her. There was this unconscious tug pulling her through the crowd toward something unknown. All around her the people in the camp never held Rose up or got in her way as if they knew where she was being directed and that Rose was welcomed there. They were completely pleasant, even going so far as to great her as family. The whole experience so far was warm and friendly, which was incredibly unfamiliar considering that she usually ended up being arrested or chased within the first few minutes of landing. Not many people reacted well to strangers appearing out of nowhere.

Rose soon found herself in what she assumed was the center of camp. The music, particularly the singing, drove her in that specific direction. The haunting voice of the singer seemed to have its own gravitational pull. All of the camp and everything that happened in it revolved around this point, this voice. The majority of the people were gathered around several cooking fires eating and listening while the remaining few were play instruments to accompany the singer, which Rose could only see small hints of.

When the music stopped Rose could feel it deep inside of her as if her soul had been affected by the singer's oddly beautiful voice. She immediately missed the melody and physically stumbled a bit when something inside of her cried out. Now that the voice was gone Rose could feel how alone she was. As if she was meant to hear a song in her head and her heart all the time. It made her miss the TARDIS.

Her dazed fumbling caught the attention of a small woman who looked Asian in appearance. It was her coloring that made her alien. She had deep purple hair that hung over her startlingly pure forest green eyes that could only be seen when the woman tilted her face just so. The stranger was thin and delicate in bone structure but the look in her eyes belayed that assumption. She was strong and beautiful, completely in control of herself. And _ancient_. The age in her eyes was far vaster than even the Doctor's.

This was why Rose found herself a bit intimidated when a man came up from behind the woman and his eyes, clear light blue, where even older. He was tall, about an inch taller than the Doctor she was trying to get back to. Thin to the point of skeletal with hair that matched the exact shade of his eyes, a blue that could only really be described as the color of the Caribbean ocean.

"Oh, hello. Who's that then?" The man asked and Rose blinked in surprise. His voice was much higher pitched then she was expecting.

"Er… Rose Tyler. Who are you?"

"M'name's Stuart and this is my bond mate? Partner? Wife? Never really got around t-," the man started to ramble.

"My name is Izumi. We welcome you," the small Asian woman interrupted and greeted.

"It's nice to meet you and thanks. I was wondering if you could explain what just happened, with the singing, I mean. I never heard something like that before from a person. It was beautiful," Rose said.

"Thanks! It was my turn to lead. But I'm done now so we can go explain who and what we are. Oh wait you haven't asked us that yet…sorry," Stuart bashfully finished with shuffling feet.

"Right… well, not to sound rude but I've never come across people like you before. So I hope you don't mind me asking but what are you?" Rose wanted to slap herself for sounding so hesitant but she wasn't traveling with the Doctor or with a field team. She was by herself and couldn't afford to offend anyone.

Stuart snickered; it was an oddly high pitched hissing noise. Izumi calmly tilted her head to the side as if she were trying to figure out if Rose was worth an honest answer. When she gave a sharp nod Stuart hopped excitedly in place a few times like a small child hearing that they get to have ice cream.

"Come on. We'll explain over food because there's no better way to do it. Alright, that's not true. Singing is a much better way, but I think you might be too young to understand if I do it that way," Stuart rambled as he led the way through camp.

Rose was taken to a cleared area that contained a standing organ, the type that you found in churches, huge and golden. Izumi pressed a few keys and a panel along the side opened to allow them entry to the interior. Having lived in a big blue box before, Rose wasn't even shocked when it was bigger on the inside.

Obviously she was in a different universe than her original one or Pete's world because the Doctor hadn't felt any Time Lords or TARDISes in either. Rose was happy and excited even if she was confused. There was no console in the room where the entrance was. It was a massive entry way with a stain glass window the two people with her and two others she didn't recognize.

Even stranger was the feeling that she got from the TARDIS she was standing in. Rose shrugged it off because she had never been inside a different one so had no idea if each TARDIS felt differently. But considering that this particular TARDIS gave off a distinctive male vibe Rose supposed that she had a lot left to learn and continued to follow the couple.

Overcome with nostalgia Rose projected her absolute happiness at what it could mean for her and the Doctor. There was another TARDIS did that mean there were Time Lords that could take her back to where she needed to be. She ran her hands along the wall in a caress and greeting as the group of them continued down the hallway. Stuart started to giggle his high pitched laugh again for reasons that Rose couldn't see. This caused Izumi to smile indulgently at her partner. At Rose's apparent confusion Izumi turned her smile on Rose except that it had a ting of sadness in it, which only caused Rose to be even more confused.

When they reached the kitchen Rose found that there was someone else living with the couple. He was one of the people that had been featured in the stain glass window. Unfortunately, the window didn't prepare Rose for his size. He had to one of the largest people that Rose had ever seen. The man had to be at least ten feet tall and instead of being built like a basketball player he was broad. His skin was a smooth chocolate color but his eyes were what captivated her. They were white, no irises or pupils, just white. Overall Rose got the impression that this man was like a bear; a big brown bear.

"Haya, Rus!" Stuart said cheerfully, "We got a guest."

"Yo," the man greeted Rose, "you want me to make something?" Rus's voice felt like thunder deep in Rose's chest as he directed the question to his friends. The New York City accent was startling.

"That would be wonderful, Russel," Izumi said.

They chatted pleasantly over what they did at this camp and what Rose was doing as food was made and served. The three friends soon learned her reason for traveling though Rose kept the details vague. When everything was cleared, Rose insisted on helping, they sat down with coffee or tea depending on the preference. She could tell that she was going to get the story that had been promised to her.

There was a moment of silent communication between Stuart and Izumi that had nothing to do with telepathy and everything to do with many years of companionship. Stuart was the one that apparently lost because he was the one who spoke.

"Er…right. You asked what we were and by now you probably come up with assumptions on your own, but I don't think you're right. We're all different, the four of us, oh and you."

"Four of you?" Rose asked.

"He is not here at the moment, at least not in this room. Trust me; you have no wish to meet him. He can be unpleasant to be around," Izumi explained.

"The bastard smells is what they're trying to say. Plus, he's a bastard," added Rus bluntly.

Rose really didn't know what to say to that so kept quiet.

"Yeah, anyway, I'm from, well that weird place between worlds. I came through a…," Stuart scratched his hair while he bit his lower lip trying to find the word.

"A rift in time and space," Izumi supplied.

"Yeah! One of those things," Stuart enthusiastically cheered, "an' on the other side was this planet that was filled with all sorts of yummy things."

At Rose's confused expression which was mingled in with amusement Izumi explained.

"Stuart's species feeds off of rift energy. He traveled into this universe because he was following his stomach."

"No, I was following a song that wasn't there yet," pouted Stuart defensively. "Lots of us were because it sang so beautifully it was sad when it was locked away. The waiting bit was the hard part, it was awful, it took no time at all," he continued over the exasperated and confused looks. "Because it took so long I started wandering and before I knew it there were these red and silver things everywhere. And then a saw this peach stuff in this cove of tangerine stuff that looked like fun so I went inside."

At this point Rose was completely lost but for some odd reason she felt compelled to listen to him. It was like listening to Tony tell her about his day, all broken up and barely understandable. It was best just to let him talk and then muddle your way through what he was saying later.

"It was great, I got to watch everything that was happening and I felt safe 'cus nasty things like Chronovores couldn't find me. But after a while it got real boring 'cus I couldn't move but I liked what I was wearing. It took a bit to figure out but it was real easy.

"So I moved closer to the song but it wasn't there yet, still. There was other things there crawling all over the place and they were kinda fun to watch. They kept changing and soon they started singing and so I found one and tried to sing with it but it didn't understand. But it did pick me up and took me to a whole group of the things. It was neat for a while but they started collecting Travelers like me that had thought of the same thing. At first that was fun too getting to sing with everyone again but it got a bit crowded. So I left to where I was before, where the singing was supposed to be.

"After a while the singing was there but there was other things built first. It looked like a big shiny snow globe except without the white plastic-y bits. Thought the big glass dome thing wasn't until later. The singing was there though and so I sang and sang but she didn't understand me. I was expecting it so while I was waiting I learned a neat trick. It was because something really scary happened. To one of our sisters," Stuart directed the last comment to Rose, much to her confusion.

"These stone people things ate her but none of the singing people around her were hurt just displaced. It was real scary so it took me a while to figure out how weird the situation was."

"Wait! The song you were looking for was a person?" Rose finally managed to ask trying to untangle what the man was saying.

"Yeah man, what the hell you talkin' about, Stu? Never mind, baby girl, explain what your man is sayin'," requested Rus.

"Uh…er… He came to my home planet and watched and waited for my people to evolve to sentience. The song he was following was the future echo of my psychic energy signature," Izumi started.

"Naw, it was your soul," Stuart interjected.

Izumi gave him a fond exasperated look as if there was something that he said that led to a familiar well loved argument.

"While he was waiting for my eventual birth he learned how to become a physical symbiote of a type of coral from my home. Stuart even managed how to manipulate the hardened mineral deposits, which made him capable of movement. He was eventually found by one of my primitive ancestors and brought to a village where others of his kind who had managed the same thing were being collected as well. I can only imagine what my people were doing with singing coral but I know what they did with them after I left," Izumi calmly explained with a pitying look in Rose's direction and the last of what she said.

"Yeah, I learned that stuff and learned how to change what I look like too. It took me a while to get to this," Stuart said while gesturing to his body. "And then I had to learn to maintain this part of me!" This time the thin man proudly indicated the room around them.

"Huh! No wonder this place always smells like butterscotch and every screen saver plays pong, and it certainly explains the room full of zombies. What the hell do you need them for anyway? Never mind, I don't want to know. What I do want is my sink back from wherever you put it because when I woke up this morning it was gone. You got me?" Rus's deep voice stopped Rose from going into stunned silence.

"Er… yeah 'course Rus," Stuart said while staring up at the large man in fear.

"You're a TARDIS?" Rose cut in before the topic could change any further.

For a moment everyone stared at her in surprise. The two men had been so caught up in the ensuing confrontation that it had even dragged Izumi in.

"No. I'm a traveler," Stuart's answer was far more strong and confident than the image he presented. Throughout lunch he had seemed like a sweet timid man who had been a bit dim. The vehemence behind his negation belayed that impression. Something ancient lurked with in him and Rose realized that he was far from stupid. Maybe he was a bit scattered as if he had a hard time seeing and expressing himself in a linear fashion.

"Oh! ...Than what's the difference?" Rose asked a bit disappointed. She had hoped that there had been something like her out there.

"A TARDIS is what my decedents did to Travelers once they forgot that they were feeling thinking beings with immense compassion towards the universe," Izumi explained. The small woman's voice carried anger that was directed at what her people had done out of ignorance.

"Than what does that make me?" Rose felt confused, conflicted even, by the other woman's tone. The Doctor had never spoken about his people so she had no way of knowing what the rest of the Time Lords were like except through the Doctor's example.

"Special, precious, your Time Lord aptly named you," at Rose's confused expression Stuart continued, "Precious girl, that's what he calls you, yeah?"

It took Rose a few minutes to bring up the memories of the Doctor calling her that. The realization it had been over three hundred years since anyone, let alone the Doctor, called her that almost made her tear up. She wasn't wasting this opportunity for explanations by getting damp on a stranger's kitchen table. Rose was stronger than that.

"You're the only one of my sisters that had been imprisoned that made it this far. That's really neat so it would be really awesome if you stayed for awhile," Stuart offered shyly. He was picking a part a biscuit they were having with their tea in what, if Rose hadn't eaten lunch with him, would have been nervousness. That wasn't what gave him away, it was his eyes. They were flickering about, never landing on anyone or anything for long.

"I'm sure you have questions of your own and we will do our best to explain everything," Izumi offered.

Before Rose could answer Rus cut in, "Besides you could use some meat on your bones. If you get any thinner you'll start looking like them." The large man gestured to the couple. Rose's eyebrows rose at the identical looks of relief and guilt that spread across their faces at the realization that Rus's focus would be on someone else for awhile.

"Er… yeah, sure. So when do I get to meet the mysterious fourth roommate?" Rose asked with a tongue touched smile.

The three residents all looked at each other. Nothing was said but Rus was clearly the looser of the discussion.

The giant glared at the two and the sighed out, "Fine, I'll go tell Muds to put some pants on." Before he left fully he turned back to Rose and added, "If the smarmy git bothers you break his nose."

With that statement Rose directed a questioning look to the two remaining people in the room. Izumi tilted her head and offered some sheepish stuttering. Stuart shrugged and smiled then said, "Welcome aboard!"


	9. Jump 620

A/N: I have been wrestling with this one for almost a year and I'm still not completely satisfied with it but I want it gone so here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. If I did I wouldn't have student loans.

Rose was led down the hallway towards her cell. She had been sentenced to the highest security prison for this century and was delighted to see how roomy the cells were. She would have to wait to see what their actual ranking would be until she was actually put into her cell. Stormcage Containment Facility was actually rather posh in comparison to some of the places that the Doctor had taken her. She had been sentenced to a two hundred years term. Oddly enough they didn't realize that she could actually complete her sentence if she wished, but why would she want to do that? That would be terribly boring.

She noticed her cell was spacious when she reached it and wondered what she was going to do with all that room. Since she didn't have any yard privileges, Rose supposed that she would get the majority of her exercise done there. The rest she would do while escaping; Rose loved the running and would miss it while she was stuck here.

The guards that had shoved her into her cell left without a backwards glance leaving Rose in absolute silence. It was eerie how quiet this prison was, it was as if she was the only inmate in this wing.

"So what are you here for?" A sultry female voice asked from the cell next to hers. The sudden voice startled Rose so much she banged her knee into her cot as she went to lay down.

"It's a long list, you sure you want to hear it?" Rose asked back with humor lacing her tone.

"I have time," came the reply.

Two hours later Rose still wasn't finished with her list. It was quite long considering all the worlds she had been to and all of the things she had done to save them. The only thing she kept to herself was the Doctor in any variation. He was too important to tell a complete stranger about or at least by name. Not that Rose was going to offer her real name anyway either. She then tried to remember the name the guards used.

"So you're Rose Tyler," the woman said, "My name is River Song it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Rose didn't let the shock of a stranger knowing her name register in her voice when she replied. "So you're River Song. Huh, I was expecting someone older. It's a shame that I can't see you properly to shake your hand but all the same, it's nice to meet you too," Rose said from her bunk staring at the wall that hid the woman she was talking to.

There was a pause from the other woman as if she didn't know what to say first. When the silence dragged on too long Rose decided to fill it with the answers that her jail mate wanted.

"I know you're young because compared to me most people are. I know _who_ you are from being what I am. I know you marry the Doctor at some point but only a very few companion hasn't. Most of the time he doesn't tell his companions because it embarrasses him, though he uses the excuse that he doesn't want to embarrass us. Really he avoids the topic completely because he doesn't want to have to talk about anything personal, ever. Bloody stupid Time Lord," Rose grumbled then sighed before she continued, "The only him that you're ever going to run into that will be honest about his emotions is Eight and even that's like pulling teeth sometimes. It's easier when you surprise him, that him anyway, because then he's far more likely to be honest. It might take you a few days to understand what he said but it will still be the truth."

"What are you?" River's voice was low and quiet showing how suspicious she was.

"Can you keep a secret?" Rose couldn't help but be a bit playful even though she had the distinct impression that this woman was incredibly dangerous.

"Of course I can," River was indignant; her whole life was a secret.

"I mean from the Doctor, can you keep a secret from the Doctor?" Rose dropped all pretense of cheer and laced her question with a silent intensity that River had only heard from two other people, Jack Harkness and the Doctor.

"Of course I can," River repeated herself, this time with solemnity.

Rose stood up and walked to the bars of her cell and pushed her arm through the force field without setting off the alarm. Twisting around Rose pushed her back to the bars and looped her arm around the wall and into River's cell. It was awkward and put her whole arm at risk if River chose to be violent but Rose _knew_ the other women without knowing her. It was because of the small bit of herself that was in River that Rose could see. River: daughter of the TARDIS, her daughter in a way.

"Give me your hand and I'll tell you," Rose gave her ultimatum hoping for that small bit of trust in return, besides her shoulder was going to go numb if she held it this way for too much longer.

Rose smiled when she felt the firm but gentle grip the other woman held her hand with. It almost felt hesitant, as if River wasn't quite sure if it was a trap or not. Rose tightened her grip and _looked_ at the woman for the first time.

Rose avoided looking at River's past, present, and all possible futures because she didn't want to know. If she saw any of that information then Rose would be forced to comply with whatever was in her future, Rose wasn't going to take that chance. As long as she didn't know what happened the past could be rewritten.

What Rose looked at was River's DNA and even deeper to her molecular structure. She wasn't surprised by what she found, more like validated. As soon as River drew her attention Rose had felt an odd familiarity that she had only experienced on one planet.

"You carry a piece of me with you, wrapped into your DNA. I helped to make you," Rose said, "Sorry that's what you are. Right, I'm what my species calls a bud. That is, in this case, a separately grown organism that is a part of a whole. In the most basic terms, I'm the TARDIS's second heart and mind, grown specifically to protect my less maneuverable aspect and it's wonderfully mad Time Lord who fancies himself a pilot. The ship within the girl and I helped to make you. Does that answer your question?"

"The Doctor doesn't know this?" River was shocked. How did that man miss something that big?

"Yeah, I know. The man's a bloody genius but can be right thick sometimes. 'Corse it doesn't help that I thought I was human the last time we were together, so it's not all his fault," Rose explained. "The thing is River, you're not meant for him. More importantly you will only get hurt pursuing him. Stop," Rose commanded. It was more to make the other woman not talk than about River's romantic intentions towards the Doctor.

"You may have married him or will or whatever, but he can't love you the way you want him to. He had already been Tied to someone and that will prevent him from physically reacting to anyone. More importantly it stops him from emotionally being attracted to someone in a romantic sense. He was Tied or Bonded to his wife on Gallifrey and even death can't prevent its effects on him. I'm sorry if this hurts but better now than you never finding love somewhere else. That isn't to say you should stop messing with him. I'm sure that his awkwardness is hilarious," Rose finished with an impish smile.

"How do you know all this? How do I know if you're telling the truth?" The suspicion was back in River's voice.

"I told you I'm a part of the TARDIS. The majority of me has existed for a far greater time than he has. Think what you will I cannot make you choose a path only guide you if you want. Love him if you want because he deserves to be but just don't expect anything as deep in return. Sorry," Rose finished and pulled her arm back through.

A subtle vibration ran up Rose's arm which caused her to look at her dimension cannon.

"Sorry to cut this short but my ride out of here has come early. It was nice talking to you and I hope we get to meet face to face eventually," Rose said before she could fade.

A few moments later the alarms went off telling everyone in the facility that a prisoner had escaped. To everyone's surprise it wasn't River Song.


	10. Jump 592

Jump 592 (part 1)

There was a young woman dancing in the dusty road, well Rose thought it was dancing. Everyone else would think that she was spinning in circles but Rose could see the patterns the girl was weaving in the dirt. Now that Rose though about it a bit more maybe she was drawing.

The girl's height was average and her hair was a dark brown. Her dress was plain and swung about her knees in a fluttery manner. She wasn't a startling beauty but her looks gave her this fragile feel or sharp, like a weapon, depending on the lighting. But at the moment she was giggling and trying to get her friend to come and dance with her. Her friend was several years older. The girl, looking sixteen to her friends mid-twenties. Both were waiting outside a beautifully held together ship that Rose just might decide to have a closer look at. It was what had drawn her to the area to begin with.

Before she knew it the girl had stopped spinning (dancing/drawing) and had flitted over not making a whisper of a sound that a human would have heard. Rose wasn't human, so didn't react at the girl's sudden appearance. She just continued to take in the ship's song.

"Can you hear her singing?" the strange girl asked.

While not surprised by her appearance she was surprised by her question. It didn't stop her from answering her.

"Of course I can hear her, but we would be closer than most," Rose said.

"The ship inside the girl," the young woman said while nodding. She then tilted her head to the side like a bird and continued, "two hearts and minds separated by walls of nothing but you are still fantastic despite the pain."

"I don't know how to be any other way. If I was I would finally loose him forever and I promised that to him a long time ago. Rose Tyler, by the way," Rose didn't worry about giving out her name. She would have felt the danger before if there was going to be a problem.

"A moving body of water," the girl smiled. All impish playfulness, she had decided to play with Rose.

"Right, that narrows it down. So it's either Brook or River as far as names go but I might just call you Stream for the fun of it," Rose teased.

"No," the word was broken up by giggles but their moment was wreaked by the girl's friend.

"River, sweetie, who's your new friend?" The twenty something was brown hair, brown eyes, girl next door beautiful and dressed up a bit in a green Chinese patterned shirt and a plain white skirt, as if she were trying to attract attention but in a salesmen sort of way.

The girl leaned closer to Rose and 'whispered' to her. "This is Kaylee; she hears _Serenity's_ song too."

It wasn't surprising to Rose now that Kaylee was closer. Kaylee had the beginnings of an ability that wouldn't be recognized officially for another couple hundred years. It was very weak but more than likely her descendents would be well sought after if it continued to grow stronger. Miss Kaylee was a technopath. She had a low level psychic ability that allowed her to empathize with technology and machinery.

"Bù hǎoyìsi?" Kaylee said in confusion. (I'm sorry?)

"Don't worry about it. River and I were discussing how wonderful _Serenity_ is. My name is Rose by the way." Rose introduced herself again.

"Yeah, _Serenity's_ a beauty if I ever saw one. She's the best ship in the 'verse, if I'm a judge. I wouldn't trust any other ship to carry me through the black," Kaylee said sweetly.

_So that's what she's selling_. It made sense that during this rough period in history (it was only the 26th century after all) that people were trying to make ends meet anyway necessary. Kaylee was hunting for passengers.

Rose debated for a moment on whether she really wanted to take the slow path in traveling. A part of her screamed that it would feel like being trapped in a small box for who knows how long. On the other hand, she could hear the young Traveler trying to inter-phase with this tech and struggling with its interior dimensions. There was no polyphasic shell to keep its interior dimensions within its exterior and Rose could help it through those first growing pains. In another eight hundred years it might even become time worthy, which was sort of like sea worthy but a lot more dangerous and frankly, messy.

"You looking for crew or passengers?" Rose asked.

Kaylee looked startled for a second and opened her mouth to say something but River beat her to it.

"_Serenity_ already has one heart but she's supposed to have two. And…and no matter how hard we try we don't have the right connection." River looked upset but was trying to keep it out of her voice.

Rose took in Kaylee and focused on the smaller details to figure out what River was talking about. The girl was right in saying that Serenity needed two hearts, Kaylee was one of them. But River, no matter how brilliant, was wrong. The ship's second heart was in the engine were it would have direct contact with Kaylee because there was no way that Kaylee wasn't the ships mechanic.

It was the smell of grease and oil that no matter how hard she tried Kaylee couldn't wash off. Her hands were hard with calluses from working constantly and there was a little grease stain that was on the back of her neck right by her hair line. Definitely the ship's mechanic.

"River, _Serenity_ doesn't need a second heart, she already has one. What she needs is a dance partner. Someone who can follow along up here," Rose said while tapping River's head. "You're just not listening to the right song. So all you need to do is learn how to listen and I can guide you through that, yeah? So no worries."

River nodded and then spun as if she had heard someone approach from a different direction and took off with an excited giggle and yell of 'Simon!' Rose couldn't hear what was said between the two of them but did notice the young man's gaze.

"You're good with her," Kaylee noted. "I don't understand half the things she says but I recon you do. Still, if you want passage you're gonna have to come up with something. We don't really have any openings with the crew but the Captain would know better."

"I'm not exactly looking for employment, but I can cook a decent meal if that helps. Are there any cash points around here?" Rose could easily find out which universe she was in by just accessing the Torchwood network because no matter how far into the future this jump had taken her she still knew that Torchwood existed.

After getting directions Rose worked the computer system, not only give her a substantial amount of money but also a brief history of the local time stream. Not too bad, there was a central government that was in serious need of an overhaul. She might have to make a stop in that direction.

What was the most worrying was that there was no alien life (to humans anyway) to be seen and no record in the system. The reports from the local branch of Torchwood on this particular moon said that despite what the government propagated there were at least two hundred different species in the city alone. So this forgotten colony had regressed back to thinking that they were the only sentient life forms out there. How typically human.

Besides the cash Rose needed identification. She then spent the next hour cutting through red tape (it was amazing how the Tyler name still worked) and go her very own I-dent card. Using her real name outside of Pete's world's Torchwood and with her family was going to take some getting used to. Everything perfectly legal looking, Torchwood was still the best. Plus, it seemed that somewhere in the past there had been a Rose Tyler that had an account set up a long time ago. Lots of money just sitting there, waiting to be used.

Rose downloaded the rest of the information into her hopper to be looked through later and then went shopping for food. She bought quite a bit of fresh stuff that was good, even as it burned a whole through the cash that she had picked up. Rose then divvied up the rest for passage and preserved food. Everything that Rose bought was very carefully stowed away in her bag (transdimensional). She paid a kid to help her carry the canned goods to the ship.

When she reached the ship and after making sure everything she bought was actually there, Rose looked to see who else was there, both passengers and crew. Simon was within the cargo area talking with River still, while Kaylee was making her way over to Rose to help with the food. There was a dark haired man that towered over everyone holding a gun and looking board. Nearby was a dark skinned woman that had to be a warrior and standing next to her was a man in a brow coat that had to have been a soldier. They were both watching the proceedings with a barely veiled suspicion. The man nodded to the woman and walked over.

"I hear you're our new cook or pilot. Funny thing about that was that I didn't even know I needed one considering the little albatross hasn't steered my ship wrong yet. Now where would she get a notion like that, hmm?" The man said without preamble

"First, Rose Tyler, nice to meet you," she held out her hand for him to shake. He stared at her a moment then cautiously shook it. "Second, I can cook but I'm not a cook, yeah? So don't expect professional gourmet meals. And third, River was the one that wanted help, but I don't need to go anywhere near the cockpit, bridge, or helm or whatever you call it to do that. I won't go where I'm not wanted. All I want is a bunk, safety from other passengers and crew alike, and privacy when I ask for it. If that's going to be a problem then keep the food and I'll be on my way. I wouldn't be able to carry it anyway." Rose was a bit abrupt but the man had been rude and she only really put up with that from her family.

"Shénme? Now hold on a moment-," The man started but she interrupted him.

"No, because you didn't know me and was a complete arse anyway. I'm not after your crew, I usually travel alone. I'm not after your ship because I don't need it, even if she's the second most beautiful ship I've ever seen. I don't need a job, I have one. Someone needs me here so here I am and as soon as I help them the sooner I leave. If it makes you feel better I'll tell you the complete truth whether you believe it or not is up to you."

"Fair point, Captain Malcolm Reynolds," he introduced himself. "Now why don't you tell me about the fact that for some reason that a member of my crew told you that there was an opening for a pilot?"

"Mr. Reynolds," Rose started.

"It's Captain or sir to people I don't know or trust," he interrupted.

For a moment all Rose could see was a handsome smile with dimple and twinkling blue eyes. Sometimes she missed Jack so much it hurt. In all the jumps she had done and the different Doctors that she had met she never once ran into Jack and it ached to think that he was lost or alone.

The Captain in front of her was giving her an odd look which meant that Rose had been lost in thought. "Right, sorry you reminded me of someone that… well, someone. Captain Reynolds," she started again and almost added the 'sir' and a mock salute but figured that it wouldn't go over well. "River doesn't think that she's good enough. For some reason she thinks that it because she can't make a mental connection to Serenity. She wants me to teach her how to do that. Like I said before I won't go anywhere that you don't want me to go." She left out the part that it would eat her alive because of her over stimulated sense of curiosity, but he didn't need to know that.

"You said you already had a job, so why should I hire you on as crew?"

"My job is to find someone because we need his help. His name is the Doctor, just the Doctor. So if you've come across him tell him two words, Bad Wolf. He'll understand what it means. But until I find him I need a way to search for him. And if it's too much of a bother to be hired as crew I'll pay my way as a passenger. What would really work out well I guess would be to rent one of you shuttles if there is one available. That way I could look for the Doctor while you could do whatever you do."

"That sounds a bit more agreeable. Mayhaps we can come to an accord just so long as no harm comes to me and mine," Captain Reynolds said.

"No, what I'm going to do is keep that little girl's mind from burning into a crisp or her accidently doing the same or worse to someone else. River wasn't born with her abilities and is very lucky that she met me before she met something else like me."

"Something?"

"I'm a natural born empath and telepath," Rose responded. She wasn't about to tell him her status as non-human, not that he would believe her anyway.

"Not many people would admit to that so readily. How do I know I can trust your word," Captain Reynolds asked.

"Xiāohàn, you're a paranoid one. River would have never let me near you if you couldn't trust me." Rose gave Mal an exasperated and tired look, which had him nodding in acquiescence.

"Fare point, I'm sure we can work out a price," the captain said.

A half an hour later Rose was now a resident of a shuttle aboard _Serenity_.


	11. Jump 223

A/N: I'm alive! Plus I'm getting a lot posted.

Disclaimer: in my fondest dreams maybe, but then again I wouldn't have let the show go the way it's going now.

Rose had gotten through going home and facing her mother without crying. She had even made it through the briefing, leaving several hundred years out, without so much as a tear dropping. Now that she was on her next Jump and by the feel of it in the correct universe, she was trying to move passed the heavy weight of the grief she was feeling. She had thought that getting trapped in Pete's world had been heart breaking, she was wrong.

Walking along, miserable but working through it, Rose found herself in Cambridge for a change. Seriously, she had seen a lot of different Londons so far. It had the look of the 70's, maybe early 80's, so her clothes didn't stand out too much. She wouldn't be gawked at in the very least, and at this moment she had no idea what she would have done under that much scrutiny. This left her with the breathing room that she so desperately needed.

When she came across a water way, Rose sat on the bank to watch the ducks and listened to the frogs. She would do anything to keep her mind off what the last Jump had done to her. Everything was happy and tranquil leaving Rose feeling empty and vulnerable because of the hurt she was feeling.

Sometimes seeing the simple things helped her keep everything together. It let her realize that her life wasn't over and that all she had to do was stand up and run. It wasn't coming as easily as it normally did for her. Maybe if what had happened hadn't been so personal it would be different.

Rose was so deep into her musings that she missed the person sitting next to her until a white paper bag was proffered into her line of sight. She had missed his asking but noted absently that her body had relaxed with his voice and presence in general.

She reached in and took out a few jelly babies to slowly consume. They both sat in companionable silence until she was finished. When she turned to thank him the fragile wall she had built to keep her emotions at bay shattered. Rose burst into tears much to his surprise.

Her tears were silent. Rose had long ago learned to keep them that way. It wouldn't be good for her to get shot because she was crying during a mission. Plus she had always hated making a spectacle of herself in front of anyone but especially him. Considering that she had only met this him once her crying at all had got to be confusing for him.

Noting through her tears Rose observed that this Doctor was worse than the two that she had traveled at comforting people. Her first Doctor had been awkward but hadn't let that get in his way of hugging her while she had been upset specifically over her father. Her new new Doctor had been much better at it. He had been affectionate on a normal day. When she was upset it hadn't been hard for him to offer a shoulder to cry on and a hug.

This Doctor had no idea what to do. It was as if no one had ever cried in front of him before. Rose could tell that a part of him was curious, whether it was over why she was crying or his body's reaction to her tears Rose didn't know, but it was the perfect thing to focus on. She desperately needed a distraction from what was constantly replaying in her mind. It may not stop the tear from actually falling but maybe with a diversion the tears would stop sooner.

Besides the curiosity Four was worried and it occurred to Rose that he barely knew her or might not know her at all. He was hesitantly patting her arm and kept quite a bit of inane chatter going. She had noticed the first time she had met him that his voice was deep and comforting even when he was talking nonsense. It helped even further to calm Rose down. It could have been anyone of him and it would still had managed to help her calm down. All the same, she wanted a hug. If he wasn't going to offer one then too bad he was going to get one whether he wanted one or not.

Standing up Rose dusted herself off and in response he did the same. Probably he was assuming that she was done and they were moving on. Rose took the opportunity to study his appearance. He didn't have his coat or scarf and had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His vest was open and the collar around his neck was loose. The Doctor was as revealed as he was likely to get and her presence was making him regret not wearing his protective covering.

Stepping closer to him Rose wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head under his chin. When he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her Rose found herself fully letting go of the grief and guilt she was keeping inside of her. The fact that she had lost everyone important to her on Gallifrey came pouring out in a jumble of tears and stuttered words. It was an old wound for the Doctor, one that he no longer remembered even if he still felt it. But for Rose it had only been yesterday that she had lost everyone besides the Doctor and Susan. Plus she couldn't help but feel that it was mostly her fault.

The people that had taken Rose in had been either disgraced or were dead. The children that the Doctor and her had Loomed together had been taken by the CIA to do god knows what with. Rose had been taken herself but by the Chancellery Guards, and had been given to a female Time Lord to do whatever she pleased with. Later during a 'session' Rose discovered that the woman's name was the Rani.

The Time Lord had been a sociopath and had used her brilliance to cover up how unbelievably deranged she was. Rose had been experimented on for three months before she had managed to escape. She had found out quickly that the Doctor had taken Susan and ran as soon as he had found out that their children had been 'handled'. A pretty word to describe what Time Lords did to abominations, which was what any child with mixed blood was considered if the other half of their genetic makeup was from a lesser species, i. e. everything else. In fact when Rose had been hunting down her Dimension Cannon she had heard of the new law that prohibited humans from ever stepping foot on Gallifrey again.

"I'm sorry it's all my fault," Rose says into the Doctor's shoulder and while she is pretty sure he can't understand what she is saying she still has to speak the words. So she babbles out the whole story, not in any sort of cohesive fashion and through sobbing that is more her gasping for breath than anything else.

Some part of Rose was grateful that he couldn't understand her words the rest of her morns with the missed chance of understanding. Plus, he would have to be a genius with puzzles to figure it out and this him is terrible at it. He couldn't even put the Key to Time together and it had only been six pieces.

What she doesn't realize is that he is terribly clever when it comes to word games and has quickly figured out exactly what is going on. This is the fact that makes him so awkward because he might know who and what she is but he does not _remember_ her. It is making him horribly uncomfortable with his own body for the first time in this regeneration because it keeps reacting in ways he doesn't understand and have everything to do with her.

As everything comes pouring out of her through her sobs and eventual sniffles the Doctor finds himself hesitantly patting her back. The longer she uses him as her own personal hanky the more natural it feels to hold her. That is the most upsetting part but he allows his body to take the lead. Plus he cannot say that he isn't curious as to what is going to happen next between the two of them.

By the time that she is ready to pull away he is holding her firmly and rubbing his large hand up and down her back in a comforting motion. Twenty minutes have passed and now that she is done they are both awkward and Rose feels guilty for putting this Doctor in this position. She can't really explain anything and that wasn't fair to him.

"I'm sorry," Rose repeated.

"You've said," the Doctor responded.

"Oh, right," she pauses, "I mean, yeah I've said but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean I'm sorry for dumping this on you without any sort of explanation. But thank you, for being here. It's exactly what I needed."

"You're welcome. I've never been someone's handkerchief before. I expect that this is the normal level of dampness that one would experience in this circumstance," the Doctor said while giving her a fond pat on the shoulder then a wide gentle smile.

That smile made Rose notice something that was different from when she first met this Doctor. The last time Rose had run into this Doctor he had known her, known her better than she realized, even now. This him, standing in front of her, looked as if he was suffering from information overload. To be fair he was hiding it rather well but his eyes had this skittish cast about them. The Doctor was trying not to run; he was forcing himself to digest the information on an intellectual level and an emotional level at the same time.

Grateful for his effort, Rose decided that she would cut this one loose, besides she was exhausted. She rubbed her eyes and took a mental step back from the emotionally charged situation. They were tense and awkward towards each other because they both didn't know what to do with the other.

It was time to leave but neither of them could find the words to move on from this point. Which was why it came as a relief when they heard the Doctor's name being called, it gave them both an excuse to part ways. The fact that the voice was female caused Rose's jealousy to rear up and do something a bit possessive.

She hugged him once more and then pulled him down into a kiss. Rose could tell that he had no idea what to do, which is why she kept it light and gentle. He didn't pull away and so she let it linger for a few minutes.

Rose then stepped away and pressed her recall button. She didn't need to be here anymore.


	12. Jump 759

Rose was sitting in the outside section of a café when she heard two people bickering close by. Since she had been there in her old universe for around twelve years and had yet to find out why she was here Rose was bored and decided to listen in for a distraction. Besides there was nothing better for her to do until the shop that she was waiting for opened. Curse little antique shops and their owners with odd business hours.

But wait she would because if her dimension cannon/vortex manipulator/everything gizmo was correct that shop had a particular artifact that wasn't native to this planet or time. If she was right whatever was in there could be used to upgrade the power source of the half of the cannon in Pete's world. Mickey was going to love the gift she was bringing him.

The bickering was between a man and a woman, the woman being much younger than the man in appearance. Rose wasn't going to let that trick her though; she knew how appearances could be misleading because she was just shy of eight hundred. They were getting closer and Rose was now able to hear what they were saying not just the tone and disappointingly found that the argument was winding down.

"_Ace,_" the man's Scottish accent was soft and gave Rose a small shiver. Ever since the Doctor and Rose had run into Queen Victoria and he had used that accent Rose couldn't help but be attracted to it.

"Come on Professor!" The woman was young probably closer to being a girl; Rose had hated that in between stage.

"Jazz is that way," the man sighed and gestured. Rose finally got a good look at the man. He was about her height maybe a bit taller and was wearing a white hat over dark curly hair. He had a dark brown coat on over a jumper that had question marks all over it. The handle of the umbrella that he was holding was also in the shape of a question mark, which was resting against his shoulder.

A little mauve flag popped up in her mind, there was something about that jumper that screamed familiarity. As if sensing her stare his sparkling blue eyes caught hers as he focused on her. Rose nodded with a smile and went back to eating her chips unashamed. She wasn't the only one watching them.

"Yeah, I know and I want to go but we can be late. Professor we should wait. Come on; just think of it as another adventure! Besides when have we ever been on time for anything anyway?" The girl, from what Rose could see of her, looked around fifteen or sixteen and was sporting a black leather jacket with ACE on the back. She had light brown hair in a French braid, but the rest of her features were a mystery because she had her back to Rose.

"Ace, from what I can perceive whatever it is in that shop is just a battery and of no importance. It might have a longer life span than the traditional ones native to here so why should I waste my time when there is perfectly good music to listen to. It will keep for another hour or so until we're done." The man was rolling his r's the more irritated he got.

"But Pro_fessor,_" Ace wheedled.

"_Ace_," the Professor dragged her name out.

"Oh, come on, Doctor. What's five minutes?"

The other shoe dropped and Rose stilled as she remembered where she had seen that jumper became quite clear. Luckily, her great amount of experience stopped her from choking on her chips as she adjusted to the information.

She should have realized it was him right from the beginning. The clothes were a dead giveaway and their topic of conversation only added to the evidence. It was a shame that he was too far away to truly get a feel of him without becoming noticeable herself.

Unfortunately, this might prove difficult for her plans if he gave into what his companion wanted. Rose had never met this particular Doctor, which narrowed it down to this him being Two, Six, or Seven. She had not been told or had asked which Doctor the one in the radioactive jacket was. All the same she wasn't going to let him snatch what she needed.

"Ace," he signed again.

"Professor," she wheedled again.

"Fine," he didn't sound defeated. He acted as if he got exactly what he wanted out of the situation, which was to say that he was excited. He had either been planning to go in there the whole time or something in the situation had altered to make him change his mind. Rose just hoped that she hadn't caught his eye in anything more than passing.

Maybe she should distract him somehow. But the only thing that came to mind was something that she wanted to save until later. It would only be used as a last resort. The only solution that she had was to beat him there and escape before he could catch her. Unfortunately, that would require sneaking out the back because she couldn't use her hopper in the shop. There was no way that that wouldn't be noticed and not by just the Doctor and Ace.

A juvenile approach she could use was to put the object in a place that he wouldn't dare reach for incase he had sticky fingers this time around. Rose decided to do that just in case anyway. If the situation called for it she would use her method of last resort and dash as fast as she could. Then as soon as she was alone hop somewhere/some when else. Rose just hoped he wasn't as good with teleports yet because she was wholly relying on Mickey to pull her back to Pete's world. Considering she hadn't felt that pull in years Rose doubted to would have miraculous timing now. Oh, well at least the Vortex Manipulator still worked even if she couldn't escape via dimension hop.

When it was time Rose casually stood and gathered her belongings having paid for her food before she even sat down. She glanced at her Vortex Manipulator, which could pass for a watch if you didn't know what it was or only had a quick glance at it, and strolled over to the shop just as the owner flipped the sign to show that he was now accepting customers. Rose only hoped that she got there first.

On the way she passed the Doctor and Ace who were still standing and chatting. Something about which musician was playing, Rose had stopped paying attention to their conversation. She did wonder why they were not following and tried to believe that it had nothing to do with her but couldn't hold onto it.

Slipping into the store quickly Rose immediately headed towards the counter where she could feel the energy signature coming from. It wasn't exactly what she had been hoping for but it would do until she could find something better.

As soon as the power situation was handled Rose could go back to fiddling with the navigation system on Mickey's side of things. It was still launching her randomly and it was really starting to irritate her that one jump she would be in the right universe to find the Doctor and the next she would be farther away from him than Pete's world.

Her cannon was meant to lock onto the TARDIS's signature and it did, but Rose was a part of the TARDIS and she was throwing everything off. She needed a different signal to direct the cannon with but it wasn't until very recently had she found a causal nexus that was around the time she needed. Her years trapped here had helped her pinpoint the time lines but they were still too tangled for her to figure out who was directly involved in them besides the Doctor. She could feel the ending coming soon and was relieved.

Piece of alien tech secured on her person, now all Rose had to do was avoid being questioned by this Doctor. It wasn't as if she didn't want to speak to him, she had done more with other versions of him. It was just that this was poorly timed. Plus, there was his companion to consider as well.

It was one thing for the Doctor having to block his memories of her meeting him too soon but it was another to erase a companion's. It wasn't fair to either of them or Rose herself. She hated putting him in that situation and ever since she had run into Five and his entourage she had tried to avoid similar situations.

On the other hand, it wasn't as if it had never happened before. He chose his companions for their strength in spirit for the most part and this one seemed particularly tough. It might be worth the risk if they managed to catch her. No point on making it easy for them. Plus she missed him terribly and she always had a problem of letting herself get a little too close to different versions of him. Some would even say intimate at least with One, Four, and Eight.

Rose had long ago determined that every single one of him was her Doctor and her bond with him said so too. Unfortunately, she had long ago decided that it wasn't a good idea to have extended exposure to his past selves. It inevitably led to something bad happening to her or to him. She couldn't press her luck with their entwinement.

She had learned not to ask a different Doctor to take her to the one that she had been trapped from. It all came back to their entwinement and every requirement that needed to be fulfilled. If they weren't met not only could it cause a paradox, it would cause one so large that it would, because of her, rip the fabric of reality apart. Not one alternate dimension would be safe. So she was stuck on the slow path in a way.

Rose was glad, though, for several reasons that she got to meet every single version of him. The foremost was that whenever she was really desperately missing him she seemed to run onto one version or another. Most of the time they were from her original universe, but there had been a few that were not. She had even run into Time Lord Victorious and the Valeyard, one the precursor to the other.

Despite some of the circumstances that she had met him under, it also gave her the chance to truly realize how much she loved the Time Lord. Even before she had figured out what and, interestingly enough, who she was Rose had figured out that she loved him in every one of his forms. Following on the heels of that came the knowledge that she could live without him, had done so for centuries and while it wasn't what she had wanted it was certainly fantastic. She had felt sad for growing up without him in her life.

Glancing out the front window showed that there was no sign of the Doctor or his young friend. In all actuality Rose doubted that it would bode well for her but maybe, just maybe he had convinced Ace to go listen to the Jazz recital that they had been talking about. But just in case, because the Doctor was always tricky, she asked the old man if she could use the back door if there was one.

He bought the story she fed him about an ex waiting outside for her that she would rather avoid and showed her to the rear door that was in the office in the back. Rose made sure to thank him and give him a tenner for his troubles. She soon found herself alone in the back ally and heading towards the street that ran parallel to the road that the shop font was on.

Rose took in a calming breath and looked around to make sure he wasn't there and started off in the opposite direction to where the Doctor had vaguely gestured to where the recital was. She extended her senses only a little further and felt him near but not close enough to catch her and breathed a sigh of relief.

This was why, when she was heading towards the nearest tube station, she was completely surprised when she was pulled into a side ally by the handle of an umbrella around her wrist. It took every ounce of Torchwood/Time Academy taught control and self restraint not to lash out at the bloody stupid Time Lord on the other end of the umbrella. On top of that, the situation was causing her to have a very weird sense of déjà vu, which was setting her nerves on edge. She pushed the feeling aside willing herself to look into it later.

"Hello!" The Doctor said kindly raising his hat with the umbrella handle once it was removed from her wrist.

"Hello," Rose couldn't resist the reply. Even after all this time it was hard not to fall into old patterns. All the same it made her smile nostalgically at an early echo of their tradition.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Ace sarcastically butted in. Rose could tell the girl was threatened by Rose but with a quick scan to her emotions Rose realized it wasn't due to jealousy. Ace was protective of the Doctor that she traveled with and wasn't sure if Rose posed a threat or not. It didn't help that her calm, even welcoming attitude towards them threw both of them off.

The Doctor tried to hide it but Rose was cheating now and using her bond with him to good use. It wasn't directly from Rose to the Doctor. The TARDIS stood between them metaphorically. When she had done this before it had only been the eighth Doctor that had noticed, but that version of him rarely followed normal patterns, well normal for the Doctor.

Because it went through a mediator of sorts the bond itself was sneaky. His bond with the TARDIS was his bond with her because she was a part of the TARDIS. So if she actively participated in the bond she just had to merge her mind with the TARDIS. It should just feel like the TARDIS was taking a more active role in watching what was happening. Plus, Rose didn't like to reach deep enough to read his thoughts, just his surface emotions.

Something was different this time. Rose watched the quick burst of surprise that flashed across his face and suddenly his link with the TARDIS was completely severed. It brought tears to her eyes and her mind whirled in pain. Rose could vaguely feel her, the TARDIS part of her, send out a psychic scream of pain, anger, and fear. Her body trembled in the effort to keep her own from echoing the one in the either.

The Doctor had done more than what he had meant to. He had just wanted to shut down his connection to his ship, probably thinking that something had infested her. In doing that he had severed her connection to the TARDIS and that had never happened before. Even before she had met the Doctor and in her travels through different universes Rose had, had that connection. It had been weak, stretched thin, and so faint that she could barely feel it, but it had been the only thing keeping her alive. It was gone and she could distantly feel herself dying.

When he reestablished his bond it didn't change her condition. It just allowed her to feel the mix of emotion that he was feeling. They were filtered through the TARDIS as if that part of her was projecting them in the hopes that she could use them to locate her. Rose had always come when the Doctor was distressed before. Rose was bombarded with his fear, surprise, worry, and guilt which wasn't helping her at all.

Rose used every ounce of strength to push away the distractions and howled into the either. It was a call to attract help. As her strength gave out the pain took over and everything went blank. She missed the sound of the TARDIS materializing around her.

When Rose came to she was on her own bed in the TARDIS and she felt better than she had in centuries. It was as if she was revitalized and every amount of damage that she had accumulated over the years had been erased from her body. She hadn't realized how much pain she was in until it was gone. Even the weight of her years seemed less, everything that had happened to Rose had been compartmentalized and archives for better access and retrieval.

She looked at the room and recoiled at the pink but noticed the changes since she had been here last. For the most part her room was untouched, but Rose could feel that it hadn't put into storage like every other companion's were. If the changes in her room had been to her belongings she would have never noticed, but the changes were additions. A sock that wasn't hers was under her chair of her vanity, a few ties were tied loosely over a bedpost by the head of her bed so the Doctor could just slip them on. There were several pairs of different colored trainers floating around with her shoes.

Rose opened her personal closet and wasn't surprised to find dress shirts and pinstriped suits in there mixed with everything that she had left behind. When she got back she really needed to get new clothes. Besides her embarrassment over her old choice in clothing it was nice to see tangible evidence that the Doctor that she had been torn away from missed her. Rose leaned in to take in that particular Doctor's smell. Burning time from the vortex, tea, bananas, marmalade, and cotton hung in the air around his clothes and it pained her to realize that she had forgotten what he had smelled like after all the time away from him.

She couldn't stop herself from putting on a dress shirt and wearing it. She held up the cuffs to take in a deeper smell of her New New Doctor. In that moment she decided that she was going to take it with her, he could live with the disappearance of one shirt no matter how much he whined at his current companion.

Leaving her room she felt the TARDIS move the room back to its proper place and time. Rose would give anything to see his reaction when he realized that one of his shirts was missing, but brushed it off. She had more important things to do.

She walked to the console room and marveled at her appearance. She had seen it once before when she had met Eight but this gothic interior always impressed her. It was a perfect mixture of comfort and haughtiness that fit the Doctor perfectly, even if he would never admit it.

Settling into the cushy armchair near a table that had a waiting cup of tea for her that was perfect Rose relaxed and prepared herself to comfort a very angry TARDIS.

"You have to admit, he has good taste. We look beautiful using this desktop theme," Rose said and could feel the other half of her practically huff in indignation. "Come on even though you were the one to build and design this you did it to impress him and maybe Ace. But it was mostly to show how much we care about him that we do things like this for him and you know it. Stop sulking. Besides we did do a fantastic job of it didn't we."

The TARDIS hummed in pleasure at a job well done.

"Yeah and no matter how mad you are at him right now you used what happened to change the theme to this. I know me and this looks brand new. I'm sure he'll like it."

Rose got the distinct impression that the TARDIS didn't care if he liked it or not she liked it and that was what was important.

_It's a shame that he is going to infest us with bats though._ The TARDIS directly thought to her.

"Well, yeah, but at least we can use the guano in the gardens. Really just make him do it. If he wants pets he gets to take care of them."

The feeling of complete agreement hung heavily in the air and Rose smirked in satisfaction.

"Are you alright, though? I mean I feel better than I have in ages but it must have taken a lot out of you to do all this." Rose asked as she shuffled about in her seat.

A feeling of smugness filled her mind that barely covered the anger that the TARDIS was feeling about the whole situation.

"Don't be mad at him," Rose said, "he's an idiot and didn't know what he was doing."

_Seven should have not been so rash. It is unlike him, but I think that had to do with your presence, Rosebud. He hurt you, me, and himself whether he realizes it or not._

"Is he alright?" Rose asked as she filed away the fact that this Doctor was the seventh.

_In severing the connection he has with me he has damaged the one you have with him. And that has hurt him because he was unaware until then that it was there at all. Right now he only suffers from a headache but the connection must be reestablished before you are taken again to prevent permanent damage to both of you._

"Where is he anyway?"

Rose's question was answered with a smug feeling coupled by satisfaction as noise from the outside world was made audible to her. At Ace's complaining Rose couldn't help but smile at herself.

"How long was I out for then?"

_One hour and fifty three minutes._

"You left them out there for almost two hours. Ace didn't deserve that at all. And I know it didn't take you that long to change the desktop."

The TARDIS was unmoved in her opinion but the doors unlocked nonetheless.

The short Scottish Doctor was the first in but paid no mind to the scene changes. Ace on the other hand stood gapping at the changed interior.

"Hello," greeted Rose.

He didn't bother with a response but gently took her face in his hands and looked straight into her eyes. While the touch felt personal his searching eyes were completely clinical. It was as if he had completely shut down his emotions and only using the analytical part of his mind. He needed to know who and what she was but Rose wasn't having any of it.

"Doctor, stop," Rose's tone was firm but not angry. "I'm not a specimen that you get to study. I've already had Time Lords do that to me and it wasn't pleasant. Look," she continued after seeing his insulted expression, "I'm not saying that you would ever go as far as they did. That's not what I mean at all. I'm saying that if you want to understand, ask. Not tests, I'm not doing any more tests, yeah. I'll try to answer your questions but there are things that you can't know."

He pulled away and crossed his arms across his chest and propped his chin on one of his hands. Rose pulled her feet up so that she could wrap her arms around her legs and rest her chin on top her knees.

What followed was a pensive silence. Rose sat waiting for the Doctor to voice the questions that she could clearly see floating in his eyes. They were no longer empty as he now let her see the emotions that she had been able to feel from the TARDIS. She still had no idea what to do with this cold and distant Doctor never having seen this part of him so predominant in any of his other forms.

"What are you, sunshine?" Ace's voice cut through the tense silence.

"Sunshine?" Rose asked finding the nickname amusing.

"Well, yeah. What else am I going to call you when I don't know your name? Plus you let off some wicked pyrotechnics when you collapsed," said Ace with a bit of awe in her voice.

"Right to one of the questions that I can't answer. More because there isn't a word that accurately describes what I am. Although, I will tell you that I'm related to the species called Travelers. I evolved on a different branch than them but I'm the first and the last, so I guess you could call me a genetic oddity or a mutant. I've been called worse, like abomination, before by several people now. They only say that because their jealous and I'm brilliant," Rose said the last part as if it was a great secret and with an impish smile.

"Damn straight, Sunshine," Ace agreed. She couldn't stand it when others were put down for stupid reasons.

"I'm sure you are quite brilliant if you gained the favor of my TARDIS. There's only one thing that confuses me, you seem to register as a human," Seven pointed out.

"That's the point. Built in chameleon circuit if you want to think of it that way. Every test, scan, or examination will tell you that I'm completely human, but I'm not, not even a little," Rose couldn't help but boast and drop hints at the same time.

"Wicked!" Ace exclaimed. Apparently in the young woman's eyes Rose was not a threat.

"Why are you not suspicious?" Rose asked Ace.

"The way I see it is that the Professor almost killed you and you did nothing to disserve it as far as we know. Then the TARDIS swoops in to save you when she doesn't even do that for him. So why should I worry?" Ace reasoned.

"Yeah I can clear that up for you if you like. I mean why the TARDIS came for me," Rose offered.

Ace shrugged as if it didn't matter to her, no matter that curiosity was oozing off of her. The Doctor just nodded and Rose couldn't figure out what he was feeling without using the TARDIS and that hadn't worked out so well the last go around.

"Right," Rose started, "it's real simple, yeah." She paused for dramatic effect, "she just likes me more."

It wasn't a lie, but it certainly wasn't the truth either. Both Ace and the Doctor showed their disbelief in their expressions.

"Alright, I know it isn't what you expected but at least I didn't lie. It may not explain anything but I have to be careful. Since I am in the position that I am in I have to be careful to preserve time lines and the entwinement that I'm a part of. It's bad enough that you are going to have to erase your memories of me because of the light show I put off."

"What does she mean, Professor?" Ace's voice was confused and laced with concern.

"Not to worry, Ace, I won't erase your memories. I will bind them so when the time comes that it is safe for you to remember you will be able to," the Doctor consoled.

"Gee, Professor, thanks," said Ace with sarcasm. At his slightly hurt look she crossed her arms and huffed out, "do you expect me to be jumping up and down with excitement over the thought of losing my memories. It doesn't matter that it's only going to be temporary. Who knows when it will be safe to remember this."

"Sorry," Rose interceded before it became an argument, "if you don't have your memories blocked this universe and every other one that I have and will go to will be destroyed if the entwinement doesn't happen the way it's supposed to."

"That's a lot of people," Ace said a bit breathlessly.

"Yeah, it's a bit…hard, but one person isn't more important than that. So I'll tell what I can but it might not be everything you want to hear." While everything Rose had said had been directed at Ace, Rose was really talking to the Doctor.

"Ace," the Doctor broke in, "why don't you go off and explore the new layout."

"But Professor," Ace complained.

"No, Ace, I'd rather not make it more difficult for our guest than it is and it will be less difficult for me later when it comes time to fix this," the Doctor explained.

Ace huffed but left, trusting that the Doctor knew best. He smiled after her and it was the first truly warm expression that Rose had seen on this Doctor's face.

"She seems spunky. I like her," Rose commented. She had seen that look on the Doctors face before, when he had been watching their kids.

"Yes she is and is completely worth all the trouble that she inevitably finds. Which is why I sent her away, I have the distinct impression that you are better at finding it than her," the Doctor's voice was affectionate and his accent was velvet like.

"Not me," Rose denied with a tongue touched smile, "can't seem to manage trouble but jeopardy and I are great friends. Know each other for ages we have."

His laughter was pleasant and however wary he was of her he was no longer letting it affect how he treated her. Rose let herself absorb the sound and cuddled into her barrowed shirt further. She had the distinct impression that he didn't allow himself to show how he truly felt. Rose would bet ten quid that this him was all logic and reason.

After a moment of silence that was pleasant and not awkward, which was what Rose had been expecting; the Doctor leaned on the console and studied her. All barriers that led people to believe that he was human were down. Time's Champion was trying to see into the heart of her and Rose wondered at what he came up with. In her experience with any of the Doctor's forms the only one of him to truly be able to see her was eight.

This would be different though. The TARDIS part of her had already said that this Doctor had become aware of their bond because he had inadvertently severed it. So he had the technical knowledge of what she meant to him but had no idea of who she was. He wasn't looking for the extraordinary things she had done. Rose was pretty sure he was looking for the basis of what made her, her. She supposed that it was like relearning your partner after they regenerated.

His calm voice interrupted her musing and she belatedly noticed that his shields were back up.

"It has come to my attention that I have done something that has greatly hurt you. I'm so sorry, it was not my intention."

Rose gave him a flat look but accepted his apology with a nod nonetheless. Otherwise she kept quiet because she had no intention of making it easy on him. He had almost killed her and while she didn't blame him in the slightest she still felt that she had the right to make things difficult for him.

He quickly realized that she was not going to offer help. So instead of confronting the problem head on, he decided that he was going to investigate their entwinement further. While he was unable to glean any memories from it, besides the faint impression of Jamie's laughter, he was able to examine emotions connected to it. What he found excited and terrified him. It was no wonder that they shared a bond if he felt this way towards someone in the future or was it the past?

The problem he faced was that he had no recollection of forming said bond and yet it was still an intrinsic part of him. One that if he didn't reestablish soon could cause further damage to both of them, he could already feel a headache. Or even worse it could pull the nearest one of him here that would most likely be delighted to help.

The thought of having to share her even with himself left him unaccountably angry. The further realization that it wouldn't be him enjoying the shape and taste of her mind gave him the rather strong desire to inflict physical violence against whoever would try, which was an absurdly silly idea to have considering that the only other person would be him. If this was how he felt with only a glimpse of her he wondered at the state of the version of him that she had left to start this journey of hers. He must be going mad.

Seeing his inner turmoil Rose took pity on him. "Come here you ridiculous alien. We'll get this done and then you won't have to remember this."

He raised both eyebrows at her assumption that he wanted this to end quickly but kept his thoughts to himself. All the same he found his feet moving towards her without telling them to. When he reached her she was already standing in front of the chair she had been occupying. So he was in easy reach when she grabbed both of his hands and used them to pull him closer until they were only a few inches apart.

Keeping his hands in hers she smiled softly at him. For a moment he was sure that she was going to kiss him but she just leaned their foreheads together making him smile as his eyes crossed in an attempt to focus on her.

Rose snorted in amusement and said, "Alright enough of that. Just relax and let me in, or if you're not comfortable with that you're welcome at any time."

The temptation was too great and he easily slipped inside her waiting mind. It was everything that he had ever wanted. All light and heat, hope and all encompassing compassion and love, everything that he had ever selfishly dreamed of for himself and missed. Now, after meeting her, he knew where the longing had come from and it terrified him.

While he was being overwhelmed Rose easily repaired the damage to their bond, at least as much as she could. The rest would take time. She then carefully pushed him back into his own mind. A frown was on his face when she opened her eyes and took a step back.

Before she could suggest leaving the Doctor tugged her hands for her full attention.

"You need to leave soon." It wasn't a question. "But perhaps you could stay for a fresh cup of tea." Every r was rolled giving away his distress.

Rose just gave him a sad smile. She wanted to stay, she really did. She always did, but if she didn't leave now she didn't think she would at all. He might not remember all the things that they had done together but this Doctor knew what she meant to him and that was so very tempting.

"I shouldn't besides Ace might wander into us and that wouldn't be fair to her. But there is one thing that you can do for me. Walk me to the door," Rose suggested.

He sighed but did so, looping one of her arms through one of his. When the short walk was to the doors was complete they turned to face one another again. The Doctor had no idea how to say goodbye to someone he didn't know but meant so much to him. Whereas Rose was deciding how far to push things.

Tossing restraint to the wind Rose tugged him closer by his jacket and snogged the breath out of him. While doing so she stole his hat which she had been eyeing ever since she had seen this Doctor. She knew that the TARDIS would just pull the hat from a different time stream for him to wear so no damage was done.

With one last cheeky smile at his now wild hair and dumbfounded expression Rose hopped out of umbrella range, waved, and disappeared by using the vortex feature on her cannon. She knew he could use the TARDIS to track her down but trusted him enough that he wouldn't and herself enough not to listen to him if she was wrong.

Smiling to herself at a job well done Rose checked her inventory.

Hat, check!

New, New Doctor's shirt, check!

Alien battery, check, well, actually no, yes, maybe? She had one sitting in her hand but it wasn't the one from the store. It was actually better suited to what she needed it for and Rose decided right then not to wonder about how fast and talented his fingers would have to be to pull that off considering it had been in her bra the whole time. And she hadn't felt a thing.

Damn it!


	13. Meanwhile on the TARDIS 2

"Donna," the Doctor whined. Either it was ignored or she just didn't hear him. Besides Donna would never ignore him so she must be somewhere else. He had checked the kitchen, the console room, the library (she hadn't been swimming), her room, and the wardrobe room and still was unable to find his wayward companion.

It was something silly and unimportant but the Doctor couldn't help but notice that one of his dress shirts was missing. He knew that it couldn't have been Donna that had taken it because she didn't know where he kept his room. That was assuming that it had been taken to begin with.

The more worrying part had been that when he had come into the room it had smelled like Rose again. Well, at least her bed did. It was as if she had slept in it last sleep cycle and left traces of her sent floating in the air. He had asked the TARDIS how this could be possible and the only thing that she had shown him was an image of his seventh self that looked terribly confused and a bit panicked. He had been unable to make any sense of it.

"_Donna,_" He called again with greater volume and whine. Where was she?

After wandering for a few minutes he gave up and asked his trusted ship where the ginger had wandered off to. The TARDIS showed him and image of the star galleria that showed off and taught the nearest systems constellations.

Heading in that direction he wondered what she could be doing in there and whined her name again. This time it got a reaction.

"Dear god, what the _hell_ do you want, spaceman?" She flung open the door while she way huffing at him. Donna was in flannel jimjams and behind her the Doctor could see a blanket on the floor with a thermos placed off to the side.

"Sweethear', what was that?" The voice of Donna's granddad interrupted what the Doctor was going to say back in defense.

Putting her mobile up to her ear again Donna answered, "It's nothing, Gramps, just the resident alien makin' a nuisance of himself. Just give me a mo' to sort him out. Well?" The last bit was directed at the Doctor.

"Oh right, I was wondering if you had seen one of my shirts," he stated sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. It was as if he was just realizing that maybe he was interrupting something important.

"No. Did you look in the laundry," she asked back.

"Of course I did, Donna! It was the first place I looked but that was an unlikely place anyway considering that it was taken from my room." The Doctor brushed aside her suggestion as it had been a rather obvious destination to look.

"So what? You think I took it?" Donna's voice was rising with her anger.

"What? No! Of course not you don't even know where my room is. I was just wondering if you had seen it about," the Doctor said with indignation.

Donna paused to take a good look at him to see if she could figure out what the man was thinking. She had quickly learned that the Doctor often did things for entirely different reasons than what he presented on the surface. So Donna had made a study of this strange man in order to help her figure out what he was really thinking or feeling. His masks had never really worked on her anyway.

Right now Donna could tell that the Doctor was slightly unnerved by something and more than a little hurt. He was using her annoyance with his pretence to deflect her from noticing. He obviously didn't want to talk about it if he was doing his damndest to drive her batty with his caterwauling so she'd press it latter. But what it really came down to was that he didn't want to be alone to chase away the thoughts that were swirling around his massive brain.

Donna huffed and rested a fist on her hip trying for a look of 'calming down but still irritated'. "No I haven't seen your shirt. Maybe you should check your pockets later, but right now I could use your help. Granddad and I were trying to find some constellations in common and can't seem to find any. Maybe you could help and look for your stupid shirt later. Is that alright, Granddad?"

"Of 'course sweethear', the Doctor's more than welcome," Wilf's voice crackled through the silence.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," the Doctor started but got cut off by Donna.

"You heard him, get you skinny butt in there and show us pictures in the sky."

"Donna they are so much more than just pictures. They can be stories or ways to navigate during the night or…"

Donna stopped listening to him as he wound up for another hyper babble and followed him into the room. While she hadn't saved the world she had certainly saved herself from his moping about who knows what in the future.


	14. Jump 101

Four (part 1)

Rose had just spent the past eight months helping U.N.I.T. recover from the loss of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart due to retirement. She had worked another three months before that in his presence, not under his command. The man had impressed her once she had no longer been under arrest. They had gotten on well and had quickly bonded over their mutual issues with the Doctor. It had taken two whole weeks for the Brigadier to truly trust her let alone believe what she said.

In the end they had become rather good friends and still kept in touch. He was one of the few people that she had entrusted with her real name and knew that the man would keep her identity from the Doctor until it became allowable for him to know. It was nice to meet some of his companions on her own terms instead of what happened with Sarah Jane.

Now that things were well underway it was time for her to move on and figure out why she had been put here. In the eleven months that she had been in her birth universe there had not been one sighting of the Doctor in any of his incarnations and U.N.I.T had a vast section in their archives dedicated to each of them that the organization had already run into themselves. Rose had added a bit more information to help them along, besides it was fun to annoy the Doctor even when he wasn't there.

Which brought her back to having no idea what she was suppose to do. She had saved the Earth twenty three times since she had come here and Rose still hadn't felt the pull of the dimension cannon telling her it was time to be pulled back to Pete's world.

Her luck was starting to change when she heard the distinctive noise of the relative dimension stabilizer as the TARDIS made her entrance on earth. It was far enough away that by the time that Rose reached the ship the Doctor would most likely be gone. If he was she would just have to wait for him.

It's not as if it would be a boring wait. It would give her time to gossip with herself and recharge the batteries if you will. It was something that Rose was noticing more and more. Every single time that she made a jump that ended with her nowhere near the universe she needed Rose could feel her energy dwindling. When she made it back to her proper universe some of the energy was restored but Rose knew that it was her run ins with the Doctor and more importantly the TARDIS that was keeping her alive for such an extended period of time.

So with relief Rose rounded the last corner to where the TARDIS had landed and met a sight that had her fighting on which reaction to give into. The man outside the door had to be the Doctor. There was no other person that the scarf he was wearing could belong to. But what was causing her to pause was the situation that he was in.

It seemed as if the Doctor had been in the midst of leaving but at the last minute the doors had shut on the very end of his scarf. This left quite a spectacle considering the image that the Doctor presented. He was tugging on his ridiculous scarf, which she had tried to wear at Women Wept and had been sent back to get rid of it. To add to the commotion he was scolding the TARDIS.

He really out did himself with the crazy man likeness at this moment. His curly hair was everywhere and he alternated between tugging his scarf and waving his hands about to emphasis the point he was trying to make. He truly looked like a madman with a box that he was, at this instant, yelling at.

This left Rose torn between laughing at him and helping him. At this moment she was more inclined to laugh but since she had never met this Doctor Rose wasn't sure as to his reaction. Not that he ever reacted well to being laughed at no matter the incarnation.

Several giggles must have escaped because his attention was suddenly on her.

"Well, don't just stand there get her to open the doors," the Doctor's voice was petulant as if he knew that she could open them when he couldn't. It was true but he shouldn't know that.

At her surprised look he studied her intently. "I see. I hadn't been keeping track. This is where you met me the first time. I should have realized that it would be this humiliating considering that you never could keep a straight face when I mention it."

This was odd for Rose. She had only run into two Doctors so far and while the older man had known her Rose assumed that he had been from her future and his. This one was obviously from his past, UNIT had quite a bit to say on this him, but he seemed familiar with her already. Where did she mess up? He couldn't know her too soon.

"Well what are you waiting for? You're the only one that can talk sense into the old thing," the Doctor said. Apparently this Doctor pouted too, which was rather curious considering that Time Lords weren't supposed to pout at all. He seemed to do that a lot considering that his species was theoretically to be incapable of the feat.

Stifling her laughter Rose came closer and said, "You know if you stopped callin' her names like 'old thing' she might not get as irritated with you so much. Here give me a mo'."

Placing her hand on the door Rose spent the next few minutes determining what was wrong. "Well, no wonder why she's so mad. You called her a piece of antiquated junk. This beautiful machine is a living creature that deserves respect, yeah. So you better watch yourself, mister, or this," Rose gestured to his stuck scarf, "is going to happen more often."

The Doctor sighed and patted the blue door but kept his eyes on Rose. He had a serious expression on his face that gave nothing away as to what he was thinking. "Interestingly enough, I have the distinct impression that she will always be there for me no matter what happens, and I will always be grateful."

Rose wasn't sure what he was expecting from her but she couldn't help smiling. It wasn't a declaration of love or anything but it did express his appreciation towards all the things the TARDIS had and would do for him.

Rose stroked the door and it loosened up to let the scarf free and there by the Doctor himself was liberated. He tossed the ends over his shoulder then stared at her in contemplation. He finally came to some conclusion because he carefully and awkwardly pulled her into a hug. The hug to Rose kind of felt like being hugged by a spider in baggy clothes, all long limbs with lots of padding.

"What was that for?" Rose asked as he pulled away.

He ignored her question and tilted her head up so that he could easily lean down and for a moment she thought that he was going to kiss her. He did, on the forehead. He then held her hands and they fit hers perfectly unlike the hug, which was an odd sensation.

Pulling her right hand up the Doctor inspected what was on her wrist, flashed her a smile, and then pressed the recall button.

The last thing that Rose heard was the Doctor's deep voice saying, "Rose Tyler the timing mechanism is off."


	15. Jump 780

A/N: I don't own or I wouldn't have student loans.

Rose could tell which Doctor was here by the TARDIS she was standing in even before asking herself. The coat and scarf was a dead giveaway. It was the first time that she had ever been in this version of herself and after a good gossip she learned that this was the last time that she would see this version of the Doctor. She double checked her entwinement and found that the time and space ship half of her was right. He was going to regenerate soon, just as soon as he found his way out of E-space.

It was surprising to find the Doctor and the TARDIS part of her in a different universe outside her original one but considering that Time Lords were still thick on the ground it wasn't impossible. Thinking of Time Lords, hers was not on board at the moment and that was perfect for what Rose had planned.

She had been thinking about it for some time. Not in any real depth, just random thoughts of what he would taste like after eating those jelly babies that he was so fond of or if he would let her climb him like a tree. Most of the time she didn't let herself fall into thoughts like that because Rose knew that she was never going to see a particular version of him again but for some odd reason she kept running into Four. The fact that the Doctor knew who she was made going through with this plan worth the risk.

Rose knew that this could blow up in her face but she was old enough that it wouldn't hurt her emotionally; her pride would sting on the other hand. But pride wasn't everything and she was counting on the Doctor's overwhelming curiosity for this to be a success.

The first step was already accomplished as she had already bought a bag of jelly babies; put them in a white paper bag and everything. If his curiosity didn't trap him his sweet tooth would, and Rose wasn't above using that against him. She dropped her jacket in front of the coat rack and then dropped a few jelly babies on top of it. Rose next spaced them out leaving a trail to the door way where she took off one of her boots. She then left the other further down the hall with its own trail connecting the two articles of clothing.

Continuing this pattern with ever single piece of clothing Rose eventually reached his room starkers except for her dimension cannon on her wrist. That she took off and put on the nearest bed side table so that it wouldn't be able to recall her in the middle of what she hoped would happen.

The device was made so that it didn't work unless it could read her particular bio-signature; she had to actually be wearing it for the cannon to work. Rose just hoped that if there was a recall that she would have thought up a better excuse for the delay than a shag.

Using some of the remaining jelly babies she created a trail from the door to the bed. Why use candles and rose petals when the romance of the gesture would be completely lost on the Doctor, any Doctor besides Eight and even then Rose wasn't so sure. At least with using his favorite sweets it would keep him focused and interested. The rest Rose kept with her and figured that she could show him some more interesting ways to eat jelly babies.

Three hours later Rose was startled out of her impromptu nap by voices that carried down the hallway. It had been a long time since she had felt this comfortable and had enjoyed the stillness while she could; besides she wasn't planning on getting much sleep later. But there were three voices heading her way and only one she recognized.

Slipping off the bed Rose reached for a dressing gown that hadn't been there before she fell asleep and slipped it on. It was one thing for the Doctor to see her starkers it was another for his companions to see her that was as well. She might have been well into her seventh century and had been put into situations that would have made Jack proud but that didn't mean that she deliberately put herself into them.

The voices were now close enough to hear.

"I don't understand. Why would someone wander the ship without their clothes?" A young man asked.

"Since I know the person there is nothing to worry about. Her intentions are perfectly clear," the Doctor responded.

"Really, Doctor? Because I haven't a clue why someone would do this," a woman interjected.

"The clothes! Oh, that I have no idea why anyone would wander naked in the TARDIS, but I do know that she means no harm." Rose could hear the confusion in the Doctor's voice.

His voice was actually what Rose found the most attractive part of this Doctor. It was deep and soothing and Rose couldn't wait to hear it in a more intimate setting. If she could manage to create one that is.

Plucking up her courage Rose decided to take matters into her own hands. She quickly made sure that she was completely covered before she stepped into the hall. She knew she didn't look sexy, more sleep rumpled than anything really, but she could work around that. The small group of people was startled out of their discussion that Rose absently noted was about the waste of Jelly Babies.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to steal the Doctor for awhile," she wasn't asking but she wanted to at least appear friendly to his companions. "Don't worry; you'll get him back none the worse for wear when I'm done."

It was easy to steer the Doctor into the room and shut the door behind them. Shock was always one of the best tactics to use if you could manage it.

Romana and Adric were left in the hallway baffled as to who and what that was. Adric was the one that led Romana away knowing what more than likely was happening behind closed doors. He was a teenage boy.

A/N: Sorry I'm not brave or interested enough to write smut. Let your imaginations take you where ever you want to go, I'm just not going to write it. Plus I wanted to keep in the aspect of Romana's relative innocence. She would have no idea what that was about.


	16. Jump 309

She had been in New York City for the past five years which was good because if she would have been in London things could have gotten rather sticky. But really, she was tired of being here cleaning up some amateur's mistakes. She had been looking for the little pain in the arse ever since her hopper had landed her in the equivalent of a bloody stab wound in reality. Whoever was doing this had no regard for the stability of the walls of the universe and when she found them she was going to shove her foot so far up their arse that they will be able to taste her trainers.

Unfortunately, she had to leave part way through her search when a madman calling himself the Master had taken over the world. The screaming madness of an insane Time Lord had beaten down on her from fifteen satellites and the constant wails of the TARDIS part of her as she was destroyed to be used to create a paradox so big that Rose had been perpetually ill.

The worst part about it was that she could do nothing. It hadn't been her decision but the TARDIS part of her had utilized Rose for her function. Rose had been built to protect not just the Doctor but the TARDIS herself. As soon as the TARDIS had become aware of what was going to happen to herself she had pulled Rose to her and had dumped her heart into her body and flung her as far away as possible.

Rose had ended up three galaxies over and two thousand years in the past. And then Rose had been stuck because if she set one foot on Earth while that maniac was still alive then Rose and the TARDIS would be used in his twisted schemes. Rose was just grateful that she hadn't been noticed and that there was enough residual power trapped in the polyphasic shell that allowed the paradox machine to work.

And then she had found herself back in New York after time had been rewritten with the realization that by the time she reached the Doctor in England he would be long gone. Damn her super phone for not lasting throughout the centuries. Losing the Doctor over a bloody phone call was just the icing on the cake. Needless to say this had put her in a terrible mood only to find that this snot nosed wannabe was still poking holes in the walls of the universe.

Well she was going to fix this right now.

She had narrowed the suspect down to a barely adult half human half something boy. The family group that he was a part of had been a paranoid lot to observe. He worked two jobs. One was with his brother hunting creatures that preyed on humans. The other was serving drinks to those said creatures at a bar called The Ninth Circle.

Rose decided to confront him there. She wasn't worried about kicking his arse in front of witnesses but she didn't want to bring the brother into it until she had a good round with the little prat. Plus the bar was owned by a Peri and that meant that she wouldn't have any interference in her confrontation that she had planned. Well, at least until after they knew who she was.

Rose stomped her way into the bar and caught the attention of every creature in there. Most were thinking of how to eat her while others were trying to figure out how to shag her before they ate her. She was too pissed to deal with any of the, mostly wolf-people, crowd. So she decided to let her presence be known and to tell the owners of this bar who she was in one move.

As several creatures reached out to grab her, her eyes blazed gold and her voice echoed when she gave her commands.

"Sit," every single creature that had been coming at her sat.

"Stay," they did.

"Holy shit," came the voice of her intended target.

"Just who I was looking for," Roses voice was sultry over the steel.

"Christ, what did I do?" Apparently he was familiar with this tone of address.

"I am sick and tired of cleaning up you mess and I'm here to teach you how to do it yourself even if I have to smack you around until you listen to me," Rose informed him making sure that he knew he had no way out. He didn't need to know that she would never lay a hand on him unless provoked.

"What mess? Listen, lady, I clean up my own messes. You've obviously got the wrong person." The kid was holding up his hands in mock surrender, his grey eyes sparking with anger.

A hand dropped onto the boy's shoulder and caused both Rose and the prat to turn to the person it was attached to. It turned out to be a Peri; he was tall and muscular with long blond hair.

"What is it Ish?" the man just shook his head as if in despair at the little nuisance's stupidity.

"Cal, you have angered the Goddess of Time, do not make it worse for yourself by being you," Ish informed.

"A what?" Cal asked.

"Not a, The, I will call your brother to come and retrieve your remains as soon as she is done with you." Ish said calmly as he cleaned a beer glass.

"Thanks, Boss," the sarcasm oozed.

"I'm not gonna kill him, maybe rub his nose in the mess he made like the puppy he is, but not kill. I'll have him back to you in ten minutes, if that's alright." Rose didn't want to be rude, well to Ish anyway.

"It will save on the cleaning. Good luck in your endeavor to teach him anything. His brother has been trying Cal's whole life and has only mildly succeeded," Ish warned her.

"I'll keep that in mind," Rose acknowledged with a nod of her head. To Cal she pointed and said, "You, you're coming with me." Then she snagged his arm before he could bolt.

Three hours and several demonstrations on how to use his abilities later, Rose was still angry enough that she wanted to scream. This kid was annoying, stubborn, and moody not to mention rude and crass when he fancied.

"You know what? I'm too nice for this and I don't have the time to waist," Rose groused.

Rose grabbed his wrist before he could make his escape and dragged him towards the better side of the city. Cal wasn't really interested in where they were going but couldn't escape her grasp. It wasn't that her grip was harsh or painful; it was more like when she touched his skin the monster inside of him was gone. It was disturbing and peaceful at the same time. So at this point he was going to follower here anywhere, but like hell he was ever going to say that out loud.

They eventually stopped in front of an orphanage. It was sorta nice Cal supposed, not too fancy but well built. Something that Niko would have appreciated. Kids were running around outside laughing and playing and acting like normal kids. This meant that while adults weren't looking there was plenty of hair pulling, ball stealing, and pushing going on around. But what was really getting to Cal was the smell. There was seriously something really weird smelling about this place.

Rose turned to him and gave him a measured look. "Will you wait here if I go in and set things up or am I gonna come back out to find that you've vanished on me?"

"Sure I'll be here. It's not like I have to be at work in a great hurry," Cal slouched against the entrance.

Rose went inside for some time and came out with another woman that was wearing plain jeans and a t-shirt. She had long dirty blond hair in a French braid and walked as if she could kick his ass and wouldn't break a sweat.

"This is Miss McShane. She can teach you what you need to learn and if you're not too much of a pain she might even look into fixing your DNA. So play nice," Rose then nodded and then looked down at what Cal had thought was a watch and then disappeared with a displacement of air.

The woman in front of Cal gave him a once over as she shrugged on a leather jacket.

"Hey, kid, let's take a ride." As she walked passed him to a motorcycle Cal read noticed the word ACE scrawled across her back.


	17. Meanwhile on the TARDIS 3

A/N: I'll admit right here that most of this my sister (and beta) wrote. While I was proof reading her stories she decided to finish this one for me. Considering that she is more familiar with the character that is making a guest appearance I think it turned out rather well and hilarious. If you don't know the character then you need to watch the show Supernatural (if you don't see him right away just keep watching), which I don't own just like Doctor Who.

There was a very loud, extremely jarring collision that sent the TARDIS spinning in the vortex. Donna was thrown from her position on the jump seat and even the Doctor was flung from his perch on the consol. Whatever had run into them smashed so hard into the TARDIS that Donna could feel them spinning end over end and was trying not to hurl her lunch onto the grating as she desperately hung onto the legs of the jump seat.

When the TARDIS finally calmed enough the Doctor scrambled his way to the consol from the wall that he had been thrown up against. He climbed over the railing, bypassing the ramp in his rush, knowing that he would never have kept his feet that way as the TARDIS was still rather turbulent. When he finally reached the controls he quickly put his ship to rights and hollered to Donna to make sure she was fine.

When all the Doctor got back was a groan he tumbled his way to Donna as quickly as possible to make sure that she was alright. He dropped to his knees next to her to check her breathing. When he got a queasy looking glare back for his concern the Doctor determined that besides being banged up a bit Donna was in fact better off than he was. His back and his head were pounding in pain.

Unfortunately, he had no time to fix himself as he still had to figure out what had happened and how damaged the TARDIS was. Springing up the Doctor checked over the console and found to his surprise that not only was the TARDIS fine she had also landed.

"What!" was all that the Doctor could think to say.

…

Outside the TARDIS was an average looking man. Besides looking a bit wind swept he looked like someone who worked in an office every day based on the cheap suit and trench coat he was wearing. The only thing that would suggest otherwise was his odd way of carrying himself and how he spoke. It was as if he was unused to how a human body worked.

"I'm sorry," the man said solemnly his deep gravelly voice sincere, "it was not my intention to harm you or any that you carry. I had only meant to pass through quickly. I had no idea-"

There was a moment of silence as the man listened to something that only few could hear. He stared at the TARDIS with intense blue eyes, a furrow forming on his brow as his head just slightly tilted as he listened.

"Yes, I see now how that could be considered rude."

…

"I am fine."

…

"No."

…

"That must be very difficult."

…

"It's an odd feeling. The vessel I wear feels constricting and yet," the man frowns in confusion and looks down at the hands he wears, unable to find how to articulate how he really feels.

…

He stares at the blue box again before answering, "Yes, 'bigger on the inside' would be a fair description."

…

"It must be," the man pauses as the Doctor opens the door, "difficult."

"Hello! I'm the Doctor-," the alien starts.

"I know," replies the stranger. The man does not face the Doctor as he addresses him only his eyes shift.

"Yes, well, nice to meet you…," the Doctor trails off hoping that the man will fill in the blank. The only reaction to his statement is that now the stranger turns to face him. There is a measured silence where the Doctor is scanned from the top of his head to his trainers and back to his eyes.

The man's stare is intense but the Doctor has faced worse so isn't intimidated by it. It's his silence that disturbs the Doctor most. Not just the physical silence, although it was a contributing factor, the man didn't breathe and his heart didn't beat, it was the mental silence that caused every nerve in the Doctor's body to be on edge.

The silence stretched on for a couple of beats longer as the man turned back to facing the TARDIS completely while keeping his eyes on the Doctor.

"Castiel," the man finally replies.

"Right, Castiel, pleasure meeting you. What did you do to my TARDIS?" The last is delivered with a light and bubbly voice coupled with dark and angry eyes. The Doctor knows this man is far from human even if he's wearing one currently. The body does a poor job at hiding the higher dimensional being because while the Doctor can see that yes, there is a human in there somewhere, he mostly sees light.

There is another moment of silence where both men stop and listen. The Doctor starts to sputter in indignation and Castiel turns his head and says, "She says your being rude."

Now there is a faint twinkle in the man's blue eyes as if he's amused. It's faint because he's not certain why this other man would be considered rude. There is relief there as well because Castiel for once is not being chastised for something he doesn't understand. But the amusement is still there and the Doctor can see it, this only makes him glare at Castiel.

"I know what she was saying," the Doctor grouses.

Castiel tilts his head to one side surveying the Doctor again before pursing his lips and narrowing his eye in confusion. Once he has come to his conclusions he bobs his head slowly while simply stating, "You are lying."

"What" sputtered the Doctor, incredulity echoes loudly, "What?"

"You are lying," stated Castiel, his confusion growing, as if he is unsure as to why the Doctor doesn't know he is lying.

"Of course I understand what she is saying! She is my TARDIS."

"No," came Castiel's gravelly deep voice.

"NO?"

The Doctor doesn't even get a response to his indignant exclamation. Castiel had already turned away from him to look at the TARDIS once more, head still tilted to one side once again.

"But he doesn't understand what you are saying. He can only understand how you feel, and cannot even hear you properly."

…

"I can understand how melting his brain could be problematic. I was in a similar situation once, and found it rather unfortunate myself," was said with a slight huff, as if Castiel was mildly irritated at whomever he was referring to and it was their fault that they had not been able to hear him, "I was very fortunate to acquire this vessel."

"And how did you-" the Doctor started to ask as Castiel looked up into the sky.

He was cut off again as Castiel looked back at the TARDIS without moving his head, "That must be difficult for you. I am sorry."

Castiel's eyes move back to the Doctor, he face free of confusion, "no."

"What?"

"No."

"No, what?" Huffs the Doctor. He has not been this irritated since Jack got them in trouble on Bob.

"You do not own her."

He is saved from making an indignant remark and squawking by the TARDIS doors slamming open, "What the bloody hell is going on!"

The Doctor watches Castiel's shoulders tense and his eyes widen at Donna's volume.

"Oi, I'm talking to you spacemen," Donna exclaims, punctuating her remark by smacking the Doctor's arm. He glares at Donna while rubbing his arm petulantly.

"I don't know," grouses the Doctor, who is still ignored. There is a moment of silence while Donna and Castiel take in each other.

"What are you looking at?" demands Donna as she stalks closer to Castiel either unaware or unconcerned that he may be dangerous. The Doctor can tell by the way she is looking at him that she is not impressed or intimidated. Castiel tenses further and leans slightly away, hands awkwardly holding his trench coat as if it could protect him from woman in front of him. But something that he sees in Donna allows him to relax and stare at her in open curiosity.

"Well, are you going to answer me? Is he another Martian? He's got to be because he dresses almost exactly like you. Only thing he's missing is the trainers. He even has the bloody coat."

After taking a moment to glance at his coat, a move the Doctor thinks is to check to see if his coat is in fact covered in blood, Castiel takes a step forward into her personal space, examining her intently. There was a moment of silence before he nods his head as if he has come to a significant conclusion, "You are very loud."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" screeches Donna, putting at least two feet between them, while the Doctor snickers at her, "Anyone ever talk to you about personal space."

Castiel shifted his feet and glanced anywhere but at Donna in what the Doctor assumed was in a guilty fashion.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," stated Donna.

He glances up at her with wide blue eyes.

"Well?"

Castiel tilts his head as if he is listening to something, ignoring Donna abruptly. A frown appears on his face before he states, "I must go. I apologize again for-"

"Don't even think about," states Donna as she grabs onto the sleeve of Castiel's trench coat, "Now, you're going to explain what is going on because obviously you're the only one that knows."

Castiel's eyebrows furrow as he stares down at the demanding redhead, "I was flying in a hurry and ran into her. Apparently that was very rude of me."

"You ran into the TARDIS?" was asked by Donna as the Doctor cried out "We were in the time vortex."

"Yes"

There was a moment of silence where both the Doctor and Donna waited for Castiel to continue. He didn't.

"That's it?" the Doctor exclaimed in indignation.

Castiel looked at both of them in mild confusion, not understanding that they expected a more thorough answer.

"What are you?" demands the Doctor.

"I am Castiel, an angel of the Lord."

"What," states the Doctor flatly as Donna stares at him in alarm.

"I am an Angel of the Lord," states Castiel again solemnly, as if he is imparted grave information to them.

"Pull the other one," states Donna blandly.

"Pull the- I do not understand that reference," intones Castiel, bafflement flittering across his face and irritation starting to enter his voice.

There is another moment of silence where Donna doesn't know what to say, the Doctor looks about to explode from either irritation or excited questions, and Castiel is frowning in general until Castiel's phone starts ringing. He answers with a huff.

"I am on my way, Dean," frustration and irritation laced through his voice.

While Castiel is listening to the caller's reply the Doctor starts scanning him with his sonic and Donna mutters, "cause angels carry mobiles."

"I apologize, Sam. I thought it would be Dean calling. He has been particularly galling in his prayers. I have been detained momentarily."

…

"Thank you for the offer, Sam, but I am fine."

…

"No, it is not heaven."

…

"An alien and her two companions. Good bye, Sam." Castiel closes his phone without waiting for a reply and stares at the two of them.

"Donna Noble," he nods his head to her.

"I will be more careful while flying," he states to the TARDIS.

"Good luck on finding her other heart, Time Lord," is Castiel's final remark and then completely vanishes with the sound of flapping wings.

Donna swiftly turns to the Doctor and whaps him on the arm while screeching, "_What_ is going on! How does he know my name?"


End file.
